Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center

Who May Participate

Undergraduate or graduate students currently enrolled at any CSU campus, as well as alumni/alumnae who received their degrees in winter, spring, summer or fall 2023 or winter 2024 are eligible. The research presented should be appropriate to the student’s discipline and career goals. Proprietary research is excluded.

Presentations from all disciplines are invited. There will be separate undergraduate and graduate divisions for each of the categories (unless a division has four or fewer entrants, in which case undergraduate and graduate divisions may be combined).  The Cal Poly steering committee reserves the right to combine or subdivide these categories, or to move an entrant from one category to another, as numbers of submissions necessitate.

 The 10 disciplinary categories are:

1.  Behavioral, Social Sciences, and Public Administration
2. Biological and Agricultural Sciences
3. Business, Economics, and Hospitality Management
4. Creative Arts and Design
5. Education
6. Engineering and Computer Science
7. Health, Nutrition and Clinical Sciences
8. Humanities and Letters
9. Interdisciplinary
10. Physical and Mathematical Sciences

A campus delegation may include up to 10 entries.  Each entry can be individual or a small group making a single presentation.

Applicants must submit an online application including:

1.) Acknowledgment of a CSU faculty mentor(s).

2.) Summary Narrative of the research, and Appendices as appropriate (see below for more information on the summary narrative).

Note: Faculty mentors must approve summary narratives and application, so it's strongly recommended to ask your faculty mentor review your application and summary narrative before attending and receiving feedback at a CSU SRC Application Review Session.

CSUMB Delegation Selection Process

The CSUMB Research, Scholarship & Creative Activity (RSCA) committee will evaluate all applications. Up to a total of 10 projects will be selected to participate in the statewide CSU competition.

Summary research narrative will be evaluated on the following criteria:

1. Clarity of purpose
2. Appropriateness of methodology
3. Interpretation of results
4. Value of the research or creative activity
5. Ability of the presenter to articulate the research or creative activity
6. Organization of the material presented

How to Participate

Each CSU campus appoints a campus coordinator and develops its own procedures for selecting student delegates to the systemwide competition. Interested students should contact their attend an information session for more information. Only those students endorsed by the campus coordinator can enter the systemwide competition.
CSUMB Campus Coordinator: Natasha Oehlman, noehlman@csumb.edu or uroc@csumb.edu

CSU Competition Guidelines if Selected as a Delegate to compete at Cal Poly SLO

Student presenters will have ten minutes for an oral presentation and five minutes to listen and respond to juror and audience questions. It is expected that the student will not make an oral presentation by simply reading directly from written summary. 

Each entry (oral presentation plus written research summary) will be judged on the following:

1.  Clarity of purpose
2. Appropriateness of Methodology
3. Interpretation of results
4. Value of the research or creative activity
5. Ability of the presenter to articulate the research or creative activity
6. Organization of the material presented
7. Presenter’s ability to handle questions from the jury and general audience

CSUMB Internal Selection Process & Competition Timeline

The Committee on Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity (RSCA) reviews all applications. Up to a total of 10 entries will be selected by the committee to participate in the statewide CSU competition.

Important Information

Interested applicants will need to attend an information session to learn more about the application process as well as an application review designed to give feedback on all areas of the application. The review committee will only review applicants who have attended both sessions/and or have worked with UROC staff on the application. 

• Information Sessions
  • Tuesday, December 5, 2024 from 1-2pm, Zoom
  • Thursday, February 1, 2024 from 3:00-3:45pm, Zoom
  • Tuesday, February 6, 2024 from 12:30-1:15pm, Zoom
• Application Review Sessions (feedback on all areas of the application)
  • February 5-13, 2024
• Applications are due on InfoReady: Thursday, February 15, 2024, at 3 pm.
• Application Review Period: February 19-March 4, 2024.
• CSUMB Delegates announced to campus: March 7, 2024.
• Delegates register for the competition: March 15, 2024.
• In preparation for the competition, all Delegates are invited to present at the UROC Spring Research, Scholarship & Creative Activity Showcase on Friday, April 12, 2024.
• CSU SRC will be held at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on April 26-27, 2024.

For questions about the competition, contact Natasha Oehlman, CSU SRC Campus Coordinator, noehlman@csumb.edu.

Awards 

Based on the recommendations of the jurors, cash awards will be provided to the outstanding presenter and the runner-up in both the undergraduate and graduate divisions of each category. If the undergraduate and graduate divisions of a category have been combined because there are fewer than four presenters in one division, awards will be provided to the outstanding presenter and the runner-up without regard to class standing. In the event there are five or fewer presenters in a session, only the outstanding presenter will receive an award.

2023 CSU Student Research Competition, San Diego State University

Congratulations to our 12 delegates who represented CSUMB at the 37th Annual Student Research Competition. And congratulations to Isaak Haberman (Marine Science), Pepper St. Clair (Biological and Agricultural Sciences), and Rosa Acevedo Duran & Kimberly Smith (Behavioral and Social Sciences) for placing 2nd place in their respective sessions.

• Angelica May Amita, Business Administration; Social Impacts of Co-Branding and Public Service Announcements Messaging; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jenny Lin; Competition Category: Business, Economics, and Public Administration
• Savannah Saldana, Applied Environmental Science (graduate); Effects of Arundo donax removal on aerial Invertebrates along the Salinas River, Monterey; Faculty Mentor: Dr. John Olson; Competition Category: Biological and Agricultural Sciences
• Isaak Haberman, Marine Science (graduate); Disparities in drivers of subtidal and intertidal sea urchin reproductive capacity; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Alison Haupt; Competition Category: Biological and Agricultural Sciences
• Paige Siegel, Marine Science/Statistics; Mapping the Stars: Understanding the Spatial Variability of Sea Stars along the Monterey Peninsula; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Alison Haupt; Competition Category: Biological and Agricultural Sciences
• Pepper St. Clair, Biology (Molecular); Analysis of Antibiotic Pressure on Conjugation Efficiency of Antimicrobial Resistance Genes in E.coli; Faculty Mentor:  Dr. Simon Titen; Competition Category: Biological and Agricultural Sciences
• Devon McCauley, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Social History; Adoption as Ongoing Settler Colonialism: A Genealogy of Severance and Domination; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kelly Medina-López; Competition Category: Behavioral and Social Sciences
• Rosa Acevedo Duran & Kimberly Smith, ​​Psychology/Social Justice and Community Leadership; Understanding Youth Mental Health Needs Through Participatory Action Research; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jennifer Lovell; Competition Category: Behavioral and Social Sciences
• Vasiliki (Kiki) Iden, Mathematics; Modeling the Majority: Bridging Purpose with Practicality; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Alana Unfried; Competition Category: Education
• Mikaela Kirkpatrick and Jherrica Phillips, Kinesiology, Exercise Science; Effect of Extended Run Time on Load-Voltage Relationship in S-Type Load Cells; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Eric Martin; Competition Category: Health, Nutrition and Clinical Sciences
• Alexandra Yokomizo - Environmental Sciences; Revealing how wildfires can affect river sediments and chemistry during droughts and after precipitation; Faculty Mentor: Dr. John Olson; Competition Category: Biological and Agricultural Science

2022 CSU Student Research Competition, San Francisco State University

Congratulations to the following students for being selected to represent CSUMB at the 2022 CSU Student Research Competition, April 29-30. And congratulations to Ellre Villanueva-Ancheta & Lauren Frey (Session 17: Education) and Nevan Bell (Session 14: Behavioral and Social Sciences) for placing 1st Place. 

• Ellre Villanueva-Ancheta & Lauren Frey, Master of Science Physician Assistant (graduate); The Effects of Near-Peer Mentorship on Aspiring Physician Assistant Student Confidence; Faculty Mentor: Nicole Reichhart, MSPA, PA-C
• Nevan Bell, Psychology (undergrad); Campus Policing and How to Improve Sense of Safety; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jennifer Lovell
• Gagandeep Choongh, Psychology & Business (undergrad); Cultural Appreciation: A Case Study on Conducting Cross-Cultural Research; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jenny Lin
• Rachel Frese, Kinesiology (undergrad); Rock Steady Boxing Exercise Both Maintains and Improves Physical Function in People with Parkinson’s Disease; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Maria Bellumori
• Erika Hernandez- Gonzalez, Business Administration (undergrad); Green Skepticism: Examining the Role of Social Media Influencers on Consumer Attitudes Towards Green Brands ; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jenny Lin
• Spencer Winter, Molecular Biology & Human Development (undergrad); Speckled Sanddab Cell Proliferation During Adult Neurogenesis; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Zurine De Miguel

2021 CSU Student Research Competition, Cal Poly Pomona

Congratulations to the following delegates selected to represent CSUMB in April 2021! Congratulations to Claudia Rocha (1st Place; Session 18) and Paul Dommert (2nd Place; Session 19) for placing in the Behavioral, Social Sciences, and Public Administration category. Congratulations to the faculty mentors and the research teams. Read more about their accomplishments on the CSUMB News Page. 

• Gagandeep Choongh, Psychology & Erika Hernandez Gonzalez, Business; Safety or Value? A Construal Level Theory Perspective on Consumers' Perceptions toward the Brand; Faculty mentor: Dr. Jenny Lin
• Courtney Crouse & Nevan Bell, Psychology; Electrocardiographic Parameters of Sedated Southern Sea Otters; Faculty mentor: Dr. Jennifer Lovell
• Paul Dommert, Psychology; Understanding the Psychology of Transformation: A Mixed Methods Investigation into the Dynamics of Significant Psychological Change; Faculty mentor: Dr. Christine Valdez
• Gerhard Gross, Social Behavioral Sciences & Ethan Quaranta, Global Studies and Environmental Studies; Assessing the Vulnerability of Monterey Bay Area Seniors to COVID-19; Faculty mentor: Dr. Yong Lao
• Melissa-Ann Lagunas, Psychology; Connectedness to Nature and Well-being Among First-generation College Students, Faculty, and Staff; Faculty mentor: Dr. Jennifer Lovell
• Amelia Parker & Jesus Sanchez Orozco, Humanities and Communication; Higher Education Is Not Immune to Messaging Mishaps: A Rhetorical Analysis of COVID-19 Messaging on U.S. Campuses; Faculty mentor: Dr. Sam Robinson
• Claudia Rocha, Psychology; WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS!: Using Youth Participatory Action Research as a Tool to Advocate for Latinx Youth During the COVID-19 Pandemic; Faculty mentor: Dr. Jennifer Lovell
• Rosalba Saavedra, Kinesiology; Relationship Between Walking Speed and Key Vital Signs in Young Adults; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Eric Martin

2020 CSU Student Research Competition, CSU East Bay

Congratulations to Sarah Ricks (1st Place) and Selina Espinoza (2nd Place) for placing in their respective sessions. 

• Sarah Ricks, Business Administration; Title: Social Media Use of Mothers in India: Empowering Mother's Spending on Children's Education; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jenny Lin
• Jessica Folck, Biology - Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology; Title: Electrocardiographic Parameters of Sedated Southern Sea Otters; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Arlene Haffa
• Selina Espinoza, Psychology & Statistics; Title: Cannabis Use and Perceptions Among Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jennifer Lovell
• Nicholas Heyer, Molecular Biology & Mathematics; Title: Development of New Genomic Tools and Discovery of Novel Alleles in Human-Specific Paralogs of NOTCH2NL Genes, Associated with Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Judith Canner
• Frederick Siglar, Psychology & Human Development; Title: Psychological Well-Being: Do Connectedness to Nature and Spirituality Play a Role?; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jennifer Lovell
• Weng Kei (Crystal) Loke, Psychology & Statistics; Title: Does Knowledge Lead to Wiser Decision Making? The Role of Awareness of Green Certifications, Willingness to Tradeoff in Influencing Sustainable Hotel Booking Decisions; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jenny Lin

2019 CSU Student Research Competition, CSU Fullerton

Congratulations to Brishna Nader and Cris de los Santos on placing first in their respective session. Read more about it on the CSUMB News Page.

• Victoria Assad, Marine Science; Study of Tergivelum baldwinae, a Benthic Acorn Worm's Behavior and Population Densities
• Staphany Arriola and Aliana Criado, Kinesiology; Effects of a High-intensity Go4Life Program in People with Parkinson's disease
  Faculty Mentor: Dr. Maria Bellumori
• Micaela Colmenarez, Biology and Statistics; Patterns of Gene Expression Associated with the Evolution of Hermaphroditism in Serranid fishes; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Nathaniel Jue
• Jessie Doyle, Applied Marine and Watershed Science; Predicting Fish Distributions in Remote Areas using Environmental DNA, Satellites, and Models; Faculty Mentor: Dr. John Olson
• Lauren Kashiwabara, Marine Science, Mathematics and Statistics; Short-term Effects of Extreme Upwelling on Juvenile Gopher Rockfish (Sebastes carnatus); Faculty Mentor: Dr. Cheryl Logan
• Danielle Layne, Kinesiology; Use of Different Medicine Ball Weights in the Backwards Overhead Medicine Ball Throw; Faculty Mentor: Dr. George Beckham
• *Brishna Nader and Cris de los Santos, Business, The Role of Internal LOC in Driving Pro-Environmental Behavior in Hospitality; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jenny Lin ~ *1st Place Winner!*
• Rene Nunez, Keiley Hansen, and Samantha Scalise; Environmental Science Tech Policy; Effect of carbon supplementation on denitrification capabilities of bacterial communities in woodchip bioreactors; Faculty Mentor: John Silveus
• Rosalba Saavedra, Brian Bischoff, and Elijah Weiss; Kinesiology & Biology, Optimal Distance for Normal Gait Speed Testing; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Eric Martin
• Daniel Olivares Zambrano, Biology; Nematostella vectensis Resistance to Their Own Neurotoxin: Exploring the Coevolutionary Resistance of Ion Channels to Neurotoxins in Venomous Animals; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Timothy Jegla

2018 CSU Student Research Competition, Sacramento State University

Congratulations to Rebekah Newman (1st place) and Yollete Merritt (2nd place) for placing in the respective session! Read more about it on the CSUMB News Page.

• Katrina Conen, Psychology; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Danielle Burchett; Impact of MMPI-2 versus MMPI-2-RF Booklet Administration on the Internal Structure and Predictive Utility of MMPI-2-RF Scales in a Forensic Inpatient Setting
• Shelby Delcambre, Kinesiology, Nathan Sanders, Mathematics Rosalba Saavedra, Kinesiology; Faculty Mentors: Dr. Eric Martin & Dr. Stephen Kim; 6th Vital Sign App: Testing Validity and Reliability
• Jenny Hatch, Psychology; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Danielle Burchett; Cognitive Symptom Trajectories among Forensic Inpatients Diagnosed with Psychotic Disorders
• Melissa Meridith, Biology; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Cheryl Logan; Effects of Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia on Larval Brown Rockfish Transcriptome
• *Yollete Merritt, History/SPED; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Debian Marty; The Unknown History of the 19th Century California Underground Railroad~ *Second Place Winner!
• *Rebekah Newman, Psychology; Faculty Mentors: Dr. Jennifer Lovell and Dr. Christine Valdez; Increased Citizenship and Professional Development: Undergraduate Psychology Students Experiences with Service Learning ~ *First Place Winner!
  
• Nicholas Prew, Business; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jenny Lin; The Impact of Temperature on Public Service Announcement Message Effectiveness
  
• Bryan Sierra-Rivera, Biology; Faculty Mentor: Dr. John Goeltz; The roles of antibiotics in modulating secondary metabolite production of Streptomyces when grown in co-culture

2017 CSU Student Research Competition, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Congratulations to Char'Mane Robinson and James Vongsaroj for placing 1st place in their respective sessions! Read more about it on the UROC News Page.

• Sarah Coffin, Environmental Science & Psychology Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jennifer Dyer-Seymour Seeing through the Eyes of an Albatross: Perspective-Taking at the Monterey Bay Aquarium
• Katrina Conen & Jayme Luna, Psychology Faculty Mentor: Dr. Danielle Burchett Impact of Using Raw Versus Uniform T Scores in MMPI-2-RF Descriptive and Inferential Research
• Cecilia Garcia, Biology Faculty Mentor: Dr. Henrik Kibak RNA interference (RNAi) control of whitefly, Bemisia tabaci MEAM1
• Char' Mane Robinson, Environmental Science Faculty Mentor: John Silveus A statistical and spatial analysis of chemical contaminants in Cocos Lagoon, Guam ~ *1st Place Winner!*
• James Vongsaroj, Kinesiology Faculty Mentor: Dr. Brian Cook Examining Temperament in Exercise Dependence and Eating Disorders ~ *1st Place Winner!*
  

2016 CSU Student Research Competition, CSU Bakersfield

Congratulations to Madison Heard for placing 2nd place in her respective session!

• Briana Bercerra, Environmental Science, Technology, and Policy; Productivity of Juniper and Pinyon Woodlands in La Joya, New Mexico; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Suzy Worcester
• Jordan Collignon, Mathematics; Simulating the Reintroduction of the Extinct Passenger Pigeon; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Lipika Deka
• Jesirae Collins, Marine Science; Impact of seafloor structure on a dominant marine organism of the sandy habitat; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Corey Garza
• Gina Dabbah, Biology; Field Observation of ascospore discharge of monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi in northern highbush blueberries; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Tim Miles
• Charlie Farber and Carl Thacker, Biology; Utilization of in vivo Plasmid Assembly in the Transformation of S. Cerevisiae; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Aparna Sreenivasan
• Madison Heard, Marine Science; Effects of Climate Change on the Larval Development of Haliotis rufescens (red abalone); Faculty Mentor: Dr. Corey Garza ~ *2nd Place Winner!*
• Elizabeth Hensley, Human Communication;Stop the Press: A case study using critical race theory to unpack and challenge the barrier of whiteness in newspapers; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sam Robinson
  
• Bethany Schulze, Environmental Science; Technology and Policy~ Modeling and mapping habitat suitability for bat foraging activity; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Fred Watson
• Jewel Sean Gentry, Masters of Art in Education; Measuring Visitor Engagement in the Mission Museums; Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kerrie Chitwood

2015 CSU Research Competition, CSU San Bernardino

• Briana Becerra, Marine Science; Factors Contributing Seedling Regeneration Subsequent to a Large Scale Clear Cut Compared to a Reference Forest Stand in Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire
• Elizabeth Alger, Biology; Investigating Panicle Architecture Variation in Grass Panicum Hali
  
• Jade Fackler, Kinesiology; Fatigue Index vs.Peak Power as an Accurate Predictor of Mountain Biking Performance in High School Mountain Bike Athletes
  
• Isabella Romero & Nasreen Toorbally, Psychology; Construct Validity of MMPI-2-RF Scales in a Forensic Inpatient Hospital Setting
  
• Megan Golbek, Mathematics; Submerged Obstacles and Linear Wave Propagation
  

2014 CSU Student Research Competition, CSU East Bay

• Alexis Ingram, Human Communication; Courting the Shippers: Community and the Changing Media Landscape
  
• Breanna Orozco, Kinesiology; Evaluation of a Worksite Based Walking Competition on Perceived Stress and Physical Activity Participation Among Female University Employees
• Daniel Muratore, Biology; Impact of Management Type on Emissions of Nitrous Oxide within a Sprinkler Irrigated Lettuce Crop
  
• Kyle Firek, Psychology; Teens Whose Families Use Friendly Sarcasm and Teasing Have Nicer Friends
  
• Lilyana Staight Gross, Mathematics; Modeling the Spread of Methamphetamine Use: A Compartmental Approach
  
• Gwen Miller, Environmental Science; Do Temperature and Dissolved Organic Carbon Play a Role in Nitrate Removal within a Treatment Wetland (Graduate Delegate)
  

2011 CSU Research Competition, San Diego State University

• Jesse Mangiagli, Psychology; College Student’s Attitudes’ Toward Sexuality: An Analysis of Homophobia as a Function of Masculinity
• Kevin Johnson, Biology; A Comparison of Cyanobacterial Abundance and Potential Toxicity in Two California Coastal Lakes
• Cody Rosasco, Psychology; Adult Sleep Patterns are not Predicted by Parental Perceptions of or use of a Sleep Method
• Erin Stanfield, Coastal and Watershed Science & Policy (Graduate); Presence and Toxicity of Freshwater Cyanobacteria in Pinto Lake, Monterey Bay Area, California
• Anthony Basilio, Biology; Effects Of Body Size On The Swimming Performance And Pectoral Fin Growth Of Black Surfperch (Embiotoca Jacksoni) From Central California
• Edgar Calcanas, Computer Science and Information Technology; Performance Analysis of a Delay Tolerant Routing Protocol
• Keri Zaro, Kinesiology; Applied Warm-Up Strategies: Effects on Vertical Jump