Fall Frontiers 2021

The Fall Frontiers in Undergraduate Research exhibition provides opportunities for UConn’s talented undergraduate students to share their research and creative projects with the university community. For fall 2021, Fall Frontiers will be offered in a hybrid modality.

  • An in-person poster exhibition will be held on Wednesday, October 20th, from 5-7pm in the Wilbur Cross North Reading Room on the Storrs campus.
  • An online exhibition will go live on Wednesday, October 20th. This exhibition includes posters and short video presentations shared by students on the Portfolium e-portfolio platform.
  • A live, online presentation session will be held on Friday, October 22nd, from 4:30-5:30pm on Webex. Four students will present their projects and answer audience questions.

We invite the university community — especially other undergraduate students — to attend the in-person exhibition, to view and comment on the projects in Portfolium, and to participate in the online presentation session to hear from student researchers and ask questions about their projects and experiences. Full details about these engagement opportunities follow below.

Fall Frontiers is part of the Month of Discovery, a series of impactful and informative events designed to connect undergraduates to the opportunities they seek in enrichment, research, innovation, and creativity.

We thank students, faculty mentors, and staff colleagues for their patience, support, and positivity as Fall Frontiers moves to this new, hybrid model. We are pleased to have this opportunity to celebrate students’ ideas, questions, explorations, discoveries, and creations in ways that keep UConn Nation safe, healthy, and connected.

In-Person Exhibition

Exhibition Program

Information for Guests

  • The university community and general public are welcome at Fall Frontiers! The audience typically includes undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, staff, alumni, family, and friends of student presenters.
  • All attendees must follow the University's campus guidelines with respect to masking and social distancing. Current guidelines require masking for all individuals indoors, as well as 6-foot distancing for unvaccinated individuals. Room capacity will be monitored at this event; you may be asked to wait to enter the event if it is at capacity.
  • The exhibition runs from 5-7pm, with a brief speaking program from 5:30-5:45pm. You may arrive and leave at any time, staying to talk with as many or as few presenters as you wish.
  • The exhibition is held in the North Reading Room of the Wilbur Cross Building (WCB on Storrs campus maps). The North Parking Garage (NPRK) and South Parking Garage (SPRK) are approximately equidistant from the Wilbur Cross Building; both offer guest parking at an hourly rate.
  • If you require an accommodation in order to participate in this event (e.g., interpreting services), please contact the Office of Undergraduate Research at 860-486-7939 or our@uconn.edu by October 13, 2021.

Information for in-person presenters

  • Instructions for Student Presenters
  • Handouts about Preparing Your Poster (PDF) and Preparing Yourself for a Poster Presentation (PDF)
  • If you wish, you may share your poster or other project materials on Portfolium. Instructions on how to do so are available in the Using Portfolium to Share Your Fall Frontiers Project document.
  • All presentations will be set up on poster boards in the Wilbur Cross Building's North Reading Room. Poster space is a 46 inch (vertical) by 70 inch (horizontal) display. There is additional space (approximately 24 inches high) below the poster stand if extra space is needed. The poster boards will be covered with navy blue paper as a background for your display. We will provide pins and staplers for you to mount your posters. Photos from past events illustrate how different students have made use of the available display space.
  • As a Frontiers participant you will be representing the University of Connecticut. It is expected that you respect that privilege and dress in professional attire for your presentation.
  • You agree to remove your work at the conclusion of the event Wednesday evening at 7 p.m., and not before. The Office of Undergraduate Research cannot keep any posters for students, so if you cannot be there to remove your own work, please have someone remove it for you or it will be thrown out.
  • Poster templates are available from UConn Brand Standards (scroll down to Print Templates). Check with your faculty advisor as individual departments often have specific templates they prefer. You can download official UConn logos here.
  • The Office of Undergraduate Research is not able to fund the cost of poster printing for student presenters.
  • You can get your poster printed at the UConn Document Production Center, located on Discovery Drive near Parking Services. You should plan to speak with them early about poster size and paper options, finishings, and accepted file types. For fall 2021, DPC staff are on site on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8am-4pm.

OUR staff will also be available to answer questions and provide assistance on WebEx at the following times:

Online Presentations

Live Session: 10/22, 4:30-5:30PM

Friday, October 22, 2021 • 4:30-5:30pm
Join session on Webex: s.uconn.edu/FF21live

Charlotte Chen ’24 (Materials Science and Engineering, ENG; Biological Sciences, CLAS)
Antibacterial Modified Silk Surfaces for Use in Urinary Catheters

Maria Katsetos ’22 (Biological Sciences, CLAS)
Design and Development of Transcutaneous Glucose Sensors

Sabrina Uva ’22 (Human Development and Family Sciences, CLAS)
The Effect of Anti-Racism Engagement on the Psychological Adjustment Among Emerging Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Xinming Zhou ’22 (Cognitive Science, CLAS)
How Prior Experience Shapes Accented Speech Adaptation

Information for Virtual Presenters

You may find the following resources helpful as you prepare your virtual Fall Frontiers presentation:

OUR staff will also be available to answer questions and provide assistance on WebEx at the following times: