STaR Symposium Call for Papers

NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 12, 2007

Contact:
Ginny Painter
Communications Program Manager
304.558.4128 ext. 244
ginny.painter@wvepscor.org

STaR Symposium Call for Papers Announced

The planning committee for the upcoming STaR (Science, Technology and Research) Symposium has announced its Call for Papers. The event, which will be held Sept. 17-18 at the Waterfront Place Hotel in Morgantown, is intended to provide a forum for the state's increasingly competitive science and technology enterprise. University and college faculty members, researchers, students and members of the business community will gather at the symposium to share research developments, ideas and collaborations.

The committee is seeking papers to be delivered during the symposium to provide attendees with information about the latest advances in scientific research being conducted in West Virginia. Research sponsored by federal agencies (National Science Foundation, National Institutes for Health, Department of Defense, etc.) is of particular relevance. All accepted papers will be published in symposium proceedings. Researchers interested in submitting a paper should visit the symposium website at www.starsymposium.org for guidelines. The deadline for submission of research papers is July 1.

There will also be a student research poster competition held in conjunction with the STaR Symposium. Designed to showcase the best student research in West Virginia, the competition is open to all West Virginia college and university undergraduate and graduate students who are actively involved in a scientific research project. The deadline for student abstract submissions is July 15.

From the abstract submissions, 20 students--10 undergraduate students and 10 graduate students--will be invited to prepare research posters to be presented at the symposium. One Undergraduate Researcher of the Year and one Graduate Researcher of the Year will be selected from among the finalists. The student selected as the Undergraduate Researcher of the Year will win a cash prize of $1,200 and the student selected as the Graduate Researcher of the Year will win a cash prize of $1,500. Second-place student researchers will receive $600 and $750, respectively. Contest guidelines are available on the symposium website.

Sponsors of the STaR Symposium include the NASA IV & V Facility, the NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium, the National Science Foundation, the West Virginia High Technology Consortium Foundation and the West Virginia Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (WVEPSCoR).

For more information or to register for the symposium, visit the symposium website or call (304) 558-4128, ext. 244.

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