SURCA Symposium Celebrates 15 Years of Undergraduate Summer Research

SURCA Symposium Celebrates 15 Years of Undergraduate Summer Research

15th SURCA Symposium
95 student researchers ‍
70 unique poster presentations
25+ programs represented
47 faculty advisors ‍
Weekly lunches that resulted in:
102 large pizzas (that's 816 slices!)
213 hoagies and cheesesteaks
346 personal bags of chips, and more!

Even during the summer Widener is bustling with student researchers as part of the Summer Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (SURCA) program. Undergraduate students from across the university worked with faculty advisors to dive into hands-on research projects and present their work at the annual SURCA Symposium.

Lani Kouroupis presents their work

"This year marked the largest SURCA cohort in the history of the program. We had projects from a wide range of disciplines, which prompted multiple interdisciplinary collaborations. That is one of the beauties of SURCA, it brings together all of the incredible projects on campus, fosters academic collaboration, and is a celebration of a liberal arts education," said Mike Corcoran, SURCA co-director and assistant professor of psychology.

Social work major Lani Kouroupis '27 presented their research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on LGBTQ+ older adults under the mentorship of Associate Professor Robin Goldberg-Glen.

"SURCA was such a good opportunity for me as an undergraduate to do what I wanted to do as soon as possible. I wanted to be a scientist and do research," they said. "Getting the opportunity to spend my summer researching and working with a mentor made it such a leisurely process. I will definitely be continuing this research."

Laura Wallon '26, a psychology major with Spanish and biology minors, conducted her research with fruit flies alongside faculty mentor Loretta Williams, professor of biology. Check out a day in Laura's life as a SURCA student ↓

"It's always amazing to see the culmination of all the hard work our students put in over the summer. We are fortunate to have so many faculty willing to give up their summers to provide our students with this great experiential learning opportunity," said Robert Mishur, SURCA co-director and assistant professor of chemistry.

The Symposium closed with an awards ceremony based on presentation feedback from faculty and staff judges.

See the full list of 2024 winners here!