Camarillo, CA - CSU Channel Islands (CI) will host the 2012 Southern California Conference for Undergraduate Research on Saturday, Nov. 17, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the John Spoor Broome Library. The annual event showcasing the best in undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activity is expected to bring more than 900 students and their faculty mentors to the CI campus from as near as Camarillo and as far as Nigeria. It is the first time CI has hosted the 20-year-old conference.

This year’s conference, themed "Channels of Research, Islands of Discovery,” will feature more than 300 oral presentations and 260 poster presentations by students in disciplines spanning the arts and humanities, as well as social, natural and applied sciences. Students will present original research in such diverse topics as biomarkers in breast cancer cells, iPad integration in the classroom, tax evasion, and Chicano poetry. CI Professor and historian Rainer Buschmann will give the keynote address, “Myths and the Science of Oceanic Exploration,” derived from his teaching and research into the human dimensions of the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. CI’s Performing Arts students also plan an original, not-to-be missed performance.

The Southern California Conferences for Undergraduate Research (SCCUR) provide an annual forum for students from a broad range of disciplines and institutions to share their best and most innovative undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative activities. Students present their scholarly work in 15-minute oral presentations, poster sessions, or in exhibitions and performances. Student presenters must submit a proposal and be selected by faculty experts based on the quality of their work and submission.

Visitors are welcome. Registration, which includes lunch, access to all presentations and a closing reception, is $70 for non-affiliated guests. Registration and participant check-in will take place in front of the John Spoor Broome Library.

Parking is complimentary. Upon entering the campus, follow signs to the designated parking lot. For more information or to register, visit http://sccur.csuci.edu/, or contact the event’s co-directors, Dr. Virgil Adams or Dr. Simone Aloisio, at sccur@csuci.edu or 805-437-8598.