Important Dates & Deadlines

Registration deadline: (CLOSED) Sunday March 9, 11:59pm

Abstract submission deadline: Sunday March 16, 11:59pm

Early poster printing deadline (get a Texas Science shirt!): Friday March 28, 11:59pm

Final poster printing submission deadline: Thursday April 3, 11:59pm

Submit your poster and video files for virtual judging: Sunday April 6, 11:59pm

Forum Prep Workshop: Tuesday April 8, 5-6pm in NHB 1.720 (RSVP here)

Virtual judging on URF Website: Wednesday, April 9 at 8am through Friday, April 11 at 11:59pm

Technology & Science Undergraduate Research Forum Event & In-Person Judging: Friday, April 11, 2025, 12-5pm

See the full schedule for the day of the event for details.

Registration Information

Poster presentations can be done by individuals or teams. Presentations are accepted at all levels: for projects you are building or in the process of undertaking, those for which you've already obtained results, or even projects that are in the idea phase.

To present a poster at the Forum, all presenters must submit a registration by Sunday, March 9, 2025, 11:59pm CT.

Important note for teams/co-presenters: If you are presenting your poster as a team, every presenter/co-presenter must complete a registration, but ONLY ONE PERSON on the team will upload presentation materials (Abstract, Poster File, Video File). The person will be designated as the TEAM CONTACT.

Abstracts

Abstracts are required for all presentations. Abstracts are uploaded on the Submission page and are due by Sunday, March 16, 2025, 11:59pm CT. Absolutely no abstracts will be accepted after the deadline. Abstracts have a 300 word limit.

NOTE: You can access the submission form multiple times to submit your materials. For example, you can submit the abstract information below by the March 16 deadline and return later to submit your poster and video files.

Abstract title: The title of your abstract should summarize the main idea of your work. Scientific titles should be factual, informative and straightforward. They should contain useful keywords that help us quickly tell the topic of your poster. Capitalize only the first letter of the title, any proper nouns or acronyms, and if necessary, the first word following a colon.

Presenters/collaborators: The list of authors should name yourself and any undergraduates, graduates, postdoctoral fellows, research educators, research scientists, and faculty involved in this research project. If you were to publish this project as a paper in a scientific journal, this would be the same author list. We strongly recommend you talk to your research supervisor for help crafting the author list and the order of authors. It is important to acknowledge all contributions to your research project including the faculty member whose lab you did this research in.

Text of the abstract: An abstract is a clear and concise summary of your research. Its content should mimic the content and order of a scientific paper, meaning you should summarize the aim of the research, the experimental or theoretical approach used, a description of the results obtained, and the significance of your results. Your abstracts should consist of a single paragraph of no more than 300 words.

Important note for teams/co-presenters: If you are presenting as a team, only one abstract is required, and this abstract will be submitted by the designated TEAM CONTACT.

Preparing your Poster and Video File

Posters

Your poster size MUST be 42" (height) x 56" (width) and be in a landscape layout.
Posters can be designed in Powerpoint and then saved as a PDF.
In Page Setup, set the size you would like your poster to be, which will be 42" (height) x 56" (width). Typical font size for the poster title at this scale would be around 90, with poster text around 24.
Use a white background for your poster. Do not use dark backgrounds for your posters. These require too much ink and delays the printing process.
We are unable to allow any reprints of posters. Please make sure the file you submit for poster printing has been double checked for any errors.

Templates Available for Research Posters

A series of research poster templates are available to help CNS researchers present their findings at conferences and events. These templates are available to students, faculty and staff. Poster templates support research posters in two sizes, offering eight different styles, with a variety of layout options for each style.

Design Resources for Scientific Figures

Because scientists and science students often have to design their own figures to be published in a journal or included on a research poster, the College of Natural Sciences offers a resource to help researchers and students refine visual elements of their work before submitting them for publication. The PDF guide Design Strategies for Scientific Figures offers tips to improve readability, clarity in data presentation, and other components of scientific figures being prepared for publication.

For more assistance with poster design, check out the Office of Undergraduate Research Poster Design Workshops, Guide to Creating Research Posters, or join the OUR Poster Design Canvas Course.

Videos

You will also record and upload a MP4 video file, 3 minutes long maximum (1 GB limit), where you/your team describes your research project. This video will be uploaded to this website along with a digital copy of your poster and will be viewed during the virtual judging process. You can record your video on zoom using your phone or computer. Check out our guide to creating your research video.

The deadline for submitting your poster and video files for virtual judging is Sunday, April 6, 11:59pm CT . Your poster and video files will be available on the Forum web site from Wed, Apr 9, 8am - Friday, Apr 11, 11:59pm, in order to allow guests and evaluators to view your projects virtually and provide comments and feedback to students. If you want your poster to be considered for an award, you MUST upload a virtual poster and video presentation file.

Important note for teams/co-presenters: If you are presenting as a team, only one poster file and video file is required, and these will be submitted by the designated TEAM CONTACT.

Poster Printing

Students participating in Forum on Friday, April 11th will have access to free poster printing services through the Office of Experiential Learning, located in PAI 5.60. To have your poster printed, submit your poster file via the Submission tab on this site. Posters will be printed on a rolling basis starting Monday, March 17th. We will contact you once your poster has been printed and is ready for pick up in PAI 5.60.

Note that all poster printing is done through a PC. At times there may be MAC/PC compatibility issues, so we recommend using common fonts such as Calibri or Times New Roman and saving your file as a PDF.

Important note for teams/co-presenters: If you are presenting as a team, only one poster will be printed, and this poster file will be submitted by the designated TEAM CONTACT.

For additional questions, please contact us at cns.exl@austin.utexas.edu

Online Reviews and Judging: Wed, Apr 9 - Fri, Apr 11, 2025

In addition to printing your poster that you will hand carry to the Forum on the day of the event, presenters will upload presentation materials - which includes the abstract, a poster file, and a video file describing the research project - to the Forum site for viewing and evaluation by judges and guests from Wednesday April 9th at 8am through Friday April 11th at 11:59pm. This allows judges, guests, and members of the award committee to view projects virtually and provide comments and feedback to students.

Attend Forum Prep Session

Tuesday April 8, 2025 at 5pm in NHB 1.720 (RSVP)

Are you participating in the Undergraduate Research Forum and want to practice talking about your science? Would you like to hear what to expect from past student participants? Want to know how to network with industry professionals in the Connections Lounge?

Come to the Forum Prep session! This informal event is designed to answer your questions and help you prepare to talk about your research and network at the Forum. RSVP above!

We'll have faculty and peer-mentors share pointers on how to talk about your research in a poster-session setting.
Previous forum participants will lead a Q &A session to answer any questions you may have about what to expect on the day of the forum and during the event.
If you'd like to practice talking about your research, we'll have a round-robin event where you can practice explaining your research to peer-mentors and receive feed-back in a low-stakes, informal setting.
Food! Come for the snacks, and stay for whatever part of the event you'd like.