Research Showcase

We invite you to be part of the 7th Annual School of Engineering Research Showcase featuring poster presentations of School of Engineering research performed by our undergraduate, Master’s, and Ph.D. students, as well as post-doctoral fellows, with our faculty as advisors.  Attended by industry partners, Silicon Valley researchers and engineers, campus affiliates, and friends of the School of Engineering, this showcase provides the School with an outstanding venue for research exposure while also affording students and faculty an excellent professional development and networking experience. Attendees will also be able to tour various labs within the SCDI complex.  

Research participants are invited to share their research work [1] through a poster presentation.  Posters may describe any School of Engineering research conducted since June 2023. The research described may be at any state of development ranging from initial conceptualization to the completion of work. Posters should describe the research project using the practices and norms appropriate to professional research in their relevant engineering field. Poster authors must have been a student, fellow, and/or faculty member (as advisor) within the School at some point during the execution of the presented research.  All authors are encouraged to be present for the event, but at least one author must be available for the duration of the Showcase in order to describe and answer questions regarding the research.

Awards: Awards will be presented based on a review by a panel of evaluators, with a final decision by the Dean of Engineering. To be eligible for an award, at least one student author must be present during the Showcase and be active in discussing their poster with attendees.

• Best Undergraduate Research Poster - for excellence in performing and communicating undergraduate research work.
• Best Master’s Research Poster – for excellence in presenting analytic or experimental research work.
• Best Doctoral Research Poster – for excellence in the presentation of fundamental research that
  explores new behaviors and techniques relating to a compelling research challenge.

Space is limited, so reserve your spot by January 12 (draft posters aren’t due until January 26) by
filling out the registration form. Note that you may need to be logged into your scu.edu email account in order to access this page. See below for poster submission and presentation guidelines. For more information, contact Nam Ling, Associate Dean for Research.

¹ Students interested in submitting a poster should be aware that this is not a Showcase for design projects (to include senior capstone projects, etc.). Accordingly, posters that describe work performed to synthesize a new system, product or service are not appropriate for this venue; exceptions may be made for the design of innovative systems developed explicitly as part of the School’s Kuehler undergraduate research internship program or other University research internships held by School of Engineering students.

Participation Eligibility - To participate in the Showcase: 

• Participation through the submission and presentation of a poster is open to undergraduate students, graduate students, and post-doctoral fellows.
• Posters may include up to five authors; at a minimum, the lead author must have been a registered student and post-doc fellow during the research activity.
• Presented research must have been accomplished during the period from June 2023 to the present time and must have been conducted primarily as an SCU research activity.
• Poster authors must be significant contributors to both (the portion of) the research work presented and the creation of the poster. The poster may recognize (as non-authors) other students and collaborators (both within SCU and external to SCU) who have played a role in the research but who have not participated in the creation of the poster. Posters must identify the faculty research advisor.
• All authors are encouraged to be present for the event, but at least one author must be available for the duration of the Showcase in order to describe and answer questions regarding the research. 
• Participation requires presentation of a research topic, and authors are expected to convey their work using standard professional research norms relevant to their field.  Design projects (e.g., senior capstone projects) are not appropriate for the Showcase; exceptions are made only for design innovation projects performed as part of the School’s Kuehler undergraduate research program or other University research internships held by School of Engineering students. Furthermore, general posters presenting an overview or summary of work by a faculty member’s research group or lab are not desired; rather, posters should present a focused research initiative within the broader research conducted by the advising faculty mentor.

Award Eligibility: In addition to meeting all participation requirements, at least one student author of the poster must be present during the Showcase to discuss and answer questions relating to the poster presentation.  Posters with multiple student authors at different educational levels will be judged in the award category matching the highest educational level represented (e.g., a two-person poster with an undergraduate and a Master’s student as authors will be judged as a Master’s level entry).

Registration and Submission Information: 

• Register via the interest form. *Note: you may need to be logged into your scu.edu email account in order to access this page. The registration deadline is listed in the following section of these guidelines.
• Accepted participants must submit a softcopy version of their poster in .pdf format. Registrants will be provided information on how to make this submission. The faculty advisor must approve the submitted draft. The draft poster submission deadline is listed in the following section of these guidelines.
• Posters will be reviewed for content and style, and students will be provided feedback.
• The final version of the poster will be submitted must be submitted by the deadline listed in the following section of these guidelines. Registrants will be provided information on how to make this submission. We will print these posters for the participants. Posters not submitted by the deadline in their final form will not be printed, and those presenters will need to make their own arrangements for printing.

Summary of Key Dates

•   December 4: Call for Submissions
•   January 12: Deadline for Submitting Interest Forms
•   January 26: Deadline for Submitting Draft Posters
•   February 3: Approximate Date for Feedback on Draft Posters
•   February 9: Deadline for Final Poster Submissions
•   February 21: Research Showcase event

Style guidelines:

• Poster size: No larger than 36” X 48”, landscape (soft copy and poster board).
• Fonts: Times New Roman, Arial, or Arial Narrow with font size: 20 pt. to 96 pt.
• Title and all authors to be displayed at the top with contact information for at least the lead author and the faculty advisor.
• Include the School of Engineering logo.
• Keep text brief, but describe the research, to typically include: background, objectives, research design/program description, results/evaluation, conclusion(s), future plans.
• Do not use all capital letters.
• Use graphics (charts, tables, pictures) that can be understood in one minute or less.
• Presenters may opt to use a display/television as an “electronic poster.” However, they must declare this intent such that they can be located near an appropriate power outlet. Presenters must make their own arrangements for obtaining this display equipment.
• Presenters may have a small table, etc. at their poster location in order to display research-related objects. Presenters must make their own arrangements for obtaining such equipment.

Presentation Requirements: 

• Author(s) or substitute presenters should stand by the poster for the duration of the event.
• Presenters may display small objects and/or use electronic displays; this desire must be made known to Showcase organizers as part of the registration process, and presenters will be responsible for obtaining any additional equipment to support such requests.
• Posters (and any other equipment) must be removed at the end of the event.