Academic and Research Fair

Academic and Research Fair

Columbia: November 11-15

Williamson: November 18-22

Presentations are sought for the Fall Academic and Research Fair. The presentations should be based upon projects or research work done at Columbia State Community College in the Fall 2023, Spring 2024, or Fall 2024 semesters (submissions from Fall 2024 should be complete by Fall Break). This contest is open to all students; you do not have to be in an honors class to participate.

This competition is sponsored by the Honors Program. There will be a division for each of the 5 divisions now present at Columbia State: Business and Technology, Health Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences, Science and Math, and Written, Oral, and Digital Communications. There will be the following cash prizes for the presentations, and the values will be awarded to the principal investigator (PI). These prizes will be awarded to each division-winning PIs:

1. $100 for First Place

2. $50 for Second Place

3. $25 for Third Place

Should there be fewer than 4 projects submitted in any division, the judges will evaluate the merit of the project and consider the appropriate amount of money to be awarded.

The fair is open to all students. Any presentation submitted should be based upon work complete at Columbia State, not any other school. The optimal presentation would be based upon work that earned an A or a B when originally submitted. 

Below are the criteria for student projects:

• Projects should articulate an argument made by the student in support of an idea or theory OR should demonstrate the ongoing state of debate in a given field.

• Projects should have a research focus. This could take the form of:

  • Collecting data via experimentation and drawing a conclusion from this data, with possible reference to other studies.

  • Analyzing source material and previous studies in the area in order that the student may produce an articulated argument; we should be able to hear the student’s individual voice in the work.

  • Participation in an activity with comparative components to previous literature and prior understanding of a given topic. This should work toward producing a synthesis of data and experience. 

  • A literature review or historiography to indicate the state of a given field using academic sources and research articles.

• All projects should show indications of critical thinking and engagement with the topic that goes beyond the superficial.

• Students should be able to deliver salient points of what they did and how they did it, with the ability to expand those answers beyond what appears on the poster board.

If you are interested in entering the fair competition, please email Dr. Duch at aduch@columbiastate.edu or Dr. Eivazova at eeivazova@columbiastate.edu so that a spot can be reserved for you.

1. Anaya Gary, Apple v. Samsung
2. Bryan Jacobs, Robotics

1. Hannah Fritsch, Lawrence of Arabia
2. Riely Fournier, Martin Luther
3. Levi Fritsch, MacArthur

1. Madalyn Faletti, Cellular mechanisms of antibiotic resistance
2. Britney Jean-Pierre, Blood Glucose
3. Elynor Fix, The Impact of Microplastics