Undergraduates seeking to learn more about life as a scientist, pump up an application to graduate school or simply satisfy their curiosity about a specific subject are finding many research opportunities at UC Davis.

Psychology major Christopher Fagundes, for instance, has been probing divorce rates. And computational science major Matt Gandara has been studying how to find some level of predictability in random processes.

On Saturday, April 24, the annual Undergraduate Research Conference will find 180 students like Fagundes and Gandara presenting research projects in either an oral or a poster session, just like their mentors do as advanced researchers.

Meanwhile, members of the community will get to find out more on a wide range of topics including what makes relationships work, how Disneyland has impacted family values, and what drives less developed nations to take part in peace operations.

Open to the public, the 15th annual conference takes place in Wellman and Freeborn halls and runs 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Yvette Flores-Ortiz, associate professor of Chicana/o studies, will share opening remarks in the morning, and Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef will deliver the keynote address at the afternoon banquet.

The conference is open to students in all fields. They apply by presenting an abstract of their study.

Two presentation formats

On April 24, oral sessions will be held 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. throughout Wellman Hall. Each student, grouped by topic, will give a 15 minute presentation, followed by a five-minute question and answer period. Faculty members, many of them sponsors of the presenters, moderate the oral sessions.

After a lunch in Freeborn Hall, students will take part in the poster-format displays 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., presenting their research visually and discussing it with conference attendees in a more informal setting.

Some students have been participating in research that is part of a larger grant for which faculty sponsors have given them responsibility to carry out specific components, either individually or collaboratively. Other students have initiated their own projects and have been conducting independent research under faculty guidance.

Gandara, working under the supervision of physics professor Richard Scalettar, will present his research: "Random Walks with Tired Drunks." The fourth-year student has studied how to predict where a given object will be at a given time in random processes. One method for determining this is called "random walks."

"Really, the easiest way to describe random walks is to describe the walk of a drunk," Gandara said. "They don't go in a straight line. They kind of meander."

Skills beyond the lab

Also a participant at last year's event, Gandara says the experience has taught him the skills a researcher needs outside of the lab -- for example, the ability to speak in front of groups and how to prepare for questions from more experienced researchers.

Tammy Hoyer, chair of the conference committee, said the event offers an opportunity to learn more about the scholarly presentation of research. Part of her focus also is to get the word out to potential undergraduate researchers that there are opportunities for research in areas like social sciences, English and the humanities. "One of the things we're really emphasizing is that research is not just about beakers and test tubes," Hoyer said.

An example of this, Fagundes, a third-year student, took his basic curiosity about the high rate of divorce to the next level by working with psychology professor Phillip Shaver on a longitudinal study of relationships.

Fagundes, who plans to become a psychology professor himself, began his study by interviewing fellow students about their dating relationships. He is now in the process of analyzing that data for his conference presentation, "Relationship Satisfaction: A Longitudinal Design."

There is still much work to be done on the long-term study, Fagundes said. But already he has discovered one possible factor behind the success or failure of a relationship. "One thing we did learn is that the satisfaction you predict kind of turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy."

All students involved in the conference earn a certificate. The event is presented by the offices of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. See http://urc.ucdavis.edu.