By Lee Haggin

The UK community assembled Wednesday evening for the 6th annual Showcase for Undergraduate Scholars, hosted by the UK Office of Undergraduate Research and the Society for the Promotion of Undergraduate Scholars.

The showcase assembled UK students, faculty and community members to listen to 10 different presentations and walk through 150 research posters educating people about various types of research being done by undergraduate students at UK.

“The showcase has seen growth since its first year, and this year was no exception,” Lindsey Smith, a sophomore and the president of the Society for the Promotion of Undergraduate Research said.

James Tracey, the vice president of research at UK, said in a press conference that the research enterprise has reached up to $368 million a year. UK ranks 52 in the nation in total costs for research and has increased its productivity by a 37 percent in the last 5 years.

She said the environment at the Showcase was enthusiastic.

“Presenters were excited about their research on our campus and were very willing to discuss it and answer questions from interested attendees,” she said. “This emotion really shows how important undergraduate research has become on our campus.”

There were over 170 undergraduates in addition to many faculty and parents listening to lectures, walking through poster presentations and enjoying the buffet.