Research Day at the Capitol

 

General Information

The prestigious event is sponsored by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, Oklahoma Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (OK EPSCoR), and the National Science Foundation. The event's objective is to showcase the outstanding undergraduate research being conducted at Oklahoma’s colleges and universities in the areas of science (including social science), technology, engineering, and mathematics. Oklahoma State University is allowed to nominate four undergraduates to this event.

 

The 2025 Research Day at the Capitol event includes two rounds of judging and encompasses multiple activities. All nominees will submit a video presentation component for the first round of judging. Based solely on the judging of the video presentation, students will be selected to continue to the second round. Note: Not all students will be selected to present their poster at the Capitol for the second round of judging. The second round of judging takes place in-person on Monday, April 14, 2025. During this round, students’ posters and oral presentations will be individually judged (typically during the afternoon at a location in Oklahoma City), with competition results determined from the live poster presentations. On Tuesday, April 15, 2025, students selected for the second round will meet with legislators at the State Capitol building and share their research during a poster exhibit from 7:30 a.m. – noon, and poster competition winners will be announced during an awards ceremony.

 

Eligiblility

• The student must be a legal resident of Oklahoma.
• The student must be enrolled as an undergraduate at Oklahoma State University for the entirety of the 2024-2025 academic year.
• The student’s research must have originated from and been conducted at Oklahoma State University in the fields of science (including social science), technology, engineering, or mathematics.
• Priority will be given to students with prior experience presenting a poster at a research conference or symposium. (This may be internal to OSU or at a professional conference.)
• The student MUST attend all sessions indicated below. Waivers will not be granted; make-up dates will not be scheduled.
  • First-Round Informational Training Session (presented via video): View in entirety by November 4, 2024, 11:59 p.m.
  • Second-Round Informational Training Session* (presented via video); View in entirety by February 28, 2025, 11:59 p.m.
  • Judging Session*: Monday, April 14, 2025, noon – 5:00 p.m. at a location in Oklahoma City. Students’ posters and oral presentations will be judged during an individually scheduled time. Only students may participate in this session. Competition winners will be announced during an awards ceremony at the State Capitol the following day.
  • Research Day at the Capitol Activities*: Tuesday, April 15, 2025, 7:30 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. Student posters will be on exhibit in the State Capitol Rotunda, and students will meet with legislators and Capitol guests.
  • Awards Ceremony*: Tuesday, April 15, 2025, 11:30 a.m. – noon. Competition winners will be announced during an awards ceremony.

*Required for those students who are selected to advance to the second round.

 

The top student researchers will be awarded the following:

• Over-all Grand Prize: $500 award plus $4,000 summer research internship; $2,500 award to the sponsoring OK college/university lab to offset internship hosting expenses.
• First Place ($500), Second Place ($250), and Third Place ($250) prizes will be awarded in each of these categories: (1) Research Intensive Institutions and (2) Regional, Community, and Tribal Colleges.
  
  

Application Process

The OSU Vice President for Research issues a call for applications in mid-May. Applications are due in early July and consist of the following materials:  1) on-line application form; 2) abstract describing the research project; and 3) faculty mentor's statement of commitment. Students are notified regarding their selection in mid-August. As noted above, Oklahoma State University is allowed to nominate four undergraduates for the event.

 

OSU's 2025 Student Representatives

Congratulations to the undergraduate students who have been selected to participate in the 2025 Research Day at the Capitol event activities.

• Adriahna Blackburn, "Hijacking a Pseudomonas aeruginosa Weapon of Self-destruction Produced as a Potential Therapeutic Tool", from Nardin, OK and advised by Dr. Matthew Cabeen, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
• Elijah Brown, "Development of a New Drug for Cystic Fibrosis Patients with Non-tuberculous Mycobacterial Infection", from Broken Arrow, OK and advised by Dr. Yong Cheng, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Ethan O'Connor, "Towards Personalized Inhalation Therapy by Correlating Chest CT Imaging and Pulmonary Function Test Features Using Machine Learning", from Oklahoma City, OK and advised by Chenang Liu, Industrial Engineering and Management
• Angelique Robinson, “Targeting PFK-2 Inhibition Regulates Mammalian Heart Regeneration”, from Mustang, OK and advised by Dr. Jiyoung Bae, Nutritional Sciences