SUNY Potsdam Learning & Research Fair Switches to Online Format

Annual SUNY Potsdam Fair Showcases Research Projects Across Sciences, Social Sciences & Humanities on April 28

by Bret Yager

Potsdam, NY (04/23/2020) — Student-driven research -- it's an important part of the SUNY Potsdam experience, and the skills it imparts may be more vital than ever.

The 2020 SUNY Potsdam Learning and Research Fair will showcase the efforts of students pushing the boundaries of their own innovation. This year, the coronavirus pandemic has forced a new creative twist on the fair -- all entries will be posted and judged online. The fair kicks off on Tuesday, April 28, at https://sunypotsdamlandrf.org.

"Retooling these events for online delivery has been a challenge, but it's one the staff of the Lougheed Center for Applied Learning has been happy to meet," said Dr. Thomas Baker, director of the SUNY Potsdam Office for Student Research and Creativity. "To coin a phrase, 'It takes a center.'"

More than two dozen entries reflect the result of class projects and independent research. Projects range from assessments of threatened turtles and their overwintering sites, to an epidemiological study of Potsdam's cemetery populations, and a study that identifies increased opportunities for wine production in New York due to climate change. The projects span the sciences, social sciences and humanities at SUNY Potsdam.

Campus and community members, parents, friends and SUNY Potsdam alumni are encouraged to take a look at the exciting work being done by students on the publicly available Learning and Research Fair website. Judging of the projects will run from April 28 through May 1, via Zoom meetings in which the judges will review project posters and ask questions of the presenters who are eligible for various awards. Awards will be presented at the Office for Student Research and Creativity's Honors Awards Ceremony -- also via Zoom -- in early May.

"We wanted to make sure that the spirit of the fair remained intact as we moved to online delivery," said Baker. "It was important that the students who had worked so hard on their projects, sometimes for several years, had a chance to showcase their work. It's also a chance for our faculty mentors to celebrate alongside the students with whom they worked."

The winning projects will receive prizes, made possible in part by support from the Frederick B. Kilmer Fund and Dr. Ram Chugh and his wife Seema, who fund the Ram Chugh North Country Public Service and Research Awards, as well as the Dorf Endowment for Applied Learning.

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