Upstate NY Junior Science and Humanities Symposium

Registration Packets for the symposium are due by Wednesday, February 12, 2025.

Registration packets include:

• Registration Form
• Registration Policy
• Purchase Order

All items must be emailed to lhayner@albany.edu.

Registration fee of $48 per person.
All attendees will be registered for the full day’s activities and meals.

Checks and purchase orders must be made out to Research Foundation for SUNY. 

Payment should be mailed to:

UHS Attn: Leslie Hayner
1400 Washington Avenue
Management Services Center 312
Albany, NY 12222

Payment will not be accepted at the symposium. 
Refunds in full for cancellations will be made until Wednesday, February 19, 2025. After this date, no refunds will be granted.
 

10:00 - 11:00 a.m. Registration Check-in
11:00 - 12:15 p.m. Lunch
12:25 - 12:30 p.m. Welcoming Remarks
12:30 - 4:40 p.m. Concurrent Speaker Sessions
4:40 - 6:00 p.m. Dinner
6:00 - 7:00 p.m. Awards Ceremony
Student presenters must stay through to the awards ceremony.
 

School administrators and family members may purchase an ad in the symposium program. See the Program Ad Order Form for details. Any questions may be directed to lhayner@albany.edu. 

Cost

• 1/4 page (4.25”x5.5”) = $50
• 1/2 page (8.5”x5.5”) = $100
• Full page (8.5”x11”) = $200
   

The abstract should accurately convey the essential nature of the research conducted and the most significant conclusions reached. A further purpose of the abstract is to attract the interest and curiosity of the non-specialist reader and thus encourage exchange, discussion, and elaboration between various authors and between authors and readers. 

The format for the abstract must be:

• 250 words maximum paragraph
• 1-inch margins
• Justified alignment
• Times New Roman 12pt font

View the abstract format example. Abstracts must be adequate in length but not exceed these specifications.

The header preceding the abstract body must include: 

1. Title of the research (bolded)
2. Author’s name(s)
3. High school, high school city, high school state
4. Name of teacher(s). Precede their name with a subheading (teacher)
5. Name of mentor and their organization. Precede their name with a subheading (mentor)
6. Include one line of space between the heading and the abstract body
    

Save the abstract as a Microsoft Word document (.docx) and email as an attachment to lhayner@albany.edu by January 22, 2025. Designate the scientific discipline in the body of the email.

Symposium program will include abstracts and they will not be edited or retyped. Accuracy must be ensured prior to submission.

Research should be original, if not completely unique. It must report findings not previously cited in scientific literature. It is important that:

• Content and style be consistent with professional scientific conference papers. Consult with a mentor or teacher for proper format.
• Research is concise and progresses logically from hypothesis to conclusion.
• Conclusions (negative, positive or inconclusive) demonstrate that an attempt to prove the hypothesis was made using scientific principles.
• Correct grammar and spelling are used. Neatness and good presentation are also important.

Format

• Consult with a mentor or teacher for proper format of the research paper. (APA or MLA are most common.)
• Font: 12pt size
• Length: Maximum 40 pages, double spaced. (Not including cover letter, references, abstract, or table of contents)
• Page number listed on each page
• Photography, graphs, tables, diagrams, charts, or other graphic representation presented in the paper must be simply presented.

Recommended outline for the research paper includes:

• a title page, or cover page stating the student’s name, school address, and title of the research
• acknowledgement of major assistance received
• as applicable, statement that “research involving non-human vertebrates or human subjects was conducted under the supervision of an experienced teacher or researcher and followed state and federal regulatory guidance applicable to the humane and ethical conduct of such research”
• table of contents
• introduction
• materials and methods
• results (data or findings)
• discussion and conclusions
• references, or literature cited
• appendices (if necessary but please keep in mind that the introduction is far more valuable in the judging process than appendices of raw data)

Save the research paper as a PDF (.pdf) and email as an attachment to lhayner@albany.edu by January 22, 2025. Designate the scientific discipline in the body of the email.

Session Timing
The research presentation may not exceed 12 minutes followed by a maximum 4-minute question and answer period. A session moderator will aid the student speaker in maintaining this schedule and in fielding questions from the audience. At the 12-minute point, the student speaker must stop the presentation even if he or she has not finished. 

Following the presentation, the session moderator will ask for judging panel questions. If time permits, the speaker may entertain questions from the audience while the exchange appears interesting and relevant. 

During the question-and-answer period students may not show any slides that were not part of their 12-minute presentation. Questions intended to harass the student speakers will not be allowed by the session moderator. The speaker should repeat a question before answering so the audience may understand the entire dialogue. Presenters are not allowed to bring anything to the presentation such as proof of design or materials. Everything presented must be in the presentation slides alone.

Format Suggestions
Students may use Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides for their presentation.

• If using Microsoft PowerPoint, bring a backup on a USB drive.
• If using Google Slides, save a backup on a USB drive, in case of internet issues.

Student presenters are reminded to:

• Embed any video, or other presentation developed through other software, into their presentation.
• If using video, students must comply with the following ground rules:
  • The video component cannot make up more than one (1) minute of the presentation and must be directly relevant to the project.
  • No audio or background music is permitted other than sounds that are an integral part of the research. Recorded or mechanically produced narration is not permitted. Narration must come from the speaker.
  • Videos (and audio, if any) may be used only for those aspects of the presentation that cannot adequately be presented in a slide. Video material presented must be an integral part of the research and should not be a substitute for presentation of data. Videos must not be used for presentation of common procedures, illustrating equipment or showing laboratory facilities. Videos should illustrate work that was done and should not be used for stimulation or aesthetic value.

Technology
Presentations will be loaded onto the session laptops on Tuesday. Presenters must check in with the Room Supervisor to ensure their presentation is prepared, only during a designated break. Students must bring a backup copy of their presentation. 

Students will be notified of their session room, presentation time and type of computer used at least one week prior to the symposium. For technical assistance and/or questions about format you may contact Len Behr (lenbehr@verizon.net) a minimum of ten days before the symposium.

Presentations (either Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides) must be emailed to lhayner@albany.edu on Tuesday, February 25, by 3 p.m.

Speaker presenters must stay through the awards ceremony on Wednesday evening.

Students submitting their research paper to the UAlbany in the High School Science Research Symposium must complete this form in full and submit it with the final research paper. Please type “N/A” in any field that is “not applicable” to your research.

Projects conducted without proper supervision will be disqualified.
 

Download Certification Form

Teachers who have no association with or allegiance to the student speakers will serve as moderators during the speaker presentations.

The moderator is responsible for timing and managing the speaker presentation. Moderators ensure that presentations do not exceed 12 minutes and that the speaker is signaled when there are less than two minutes left in their presentation time.

At the end of 12 minutes, if the speaker is not finished, the moderator must interrupt the speaker with an admonition that they may finish the sentence they are on and then stop speaking.

Moderators do not pose questions to the student presenters.

Moderators manage questions at the conclusion of the presentations and gather the judging results.

Moderators also attend the judging sessions and compile brief, constructive critiques for verbal feedback to students and teachers upon request.

Moderators compile the judges’ ranking of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place students and deliver this information to the UHS Assistant Director of Special Events. 

General Duties

• Introduce each speaker’s name and title of research (refer to info sheet). We recommend asking each speaker in advance for the proper pronunciation of their names and terms used in their presentation titles.
• Introduce judges (refer to info sheet) at the beginning of the session.
• Announce to audience:
  • Turn off cell phones and devices.
  • Maintain a respectful silence and minimize movement during presentations.
  • No photographs or videos may be taken until the Question & Answer period.
  • Announce presentation schedule (below) and ask speakers to acknowledge you (by eye contact or nod) when you signal the 2-minute warning.
  • No coaching of any kind is allowed from any member of the audience.

Each student’s presentation must adhere to the following timeline: 

• 12 minutes are allotted for each student’s uninterrupted oral presentation.
• When precisely 10 minutes have elapsed in the presentation, briefly indicate that there are 2 minutes remaining, by standing and attempting eye contact with the presenter. Be sure the student sees and acknowledges you.
• When precisely 12 minutes have elapsed, stand and remain standing. Student must stop immediately. Begin taking questions from the judges.
• During the Question & Answer period (4-minutes), students may not show slides that were not part of their 12-minute presentation. 

Schedule

It is imperative that the following schedule be followed exactly. This schedule allows for attendees to relocate to a different room during the allotted break periods.

Managing Questions

• 4 minutes are allotted for Question & Answer per presentation.
• Be sure the student repeats the question so everyone can hear it.
• Invite questions only from judges. No more than 2 consecutive questions should come from the same judge.
• Disallow any questions that, in your judgment, are designed to embarrass or denigrate. 

Deliberations

• The moderator must stay during the judges’ deliberations to take notes and summarize comments. Moderators should be prepared to give, upon request, an oral overview of the judges’ comments to students and/or teachers. Written comments are not to be given out.
• The moderator conveys the judges’ decisions to the UHS Assistant Director of Special Events.

Recommended hotels:

• Hampton Inn Albany-Western Ave/University Area
• Courtyard Albany Thruway
• Tru by Hilton Albany Crossgates Mall

There are no designated group blocks for this year. 

Select winners from your session based upon the students’ oral PowerPoint presentation. Criteria and rubrics will be shared soon.

UAlbany in the High School Science Research Symposium recognizes students for original research achievements in the sciences, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM). The overall test is that students demonstrate valid investigation and experimentation aimed at discovery of knowledge.

Questions

Moderators keep time and manage questions. They are instructed to rule out of order questions that are inappropriate. Questions should: 

• Refer only to the student’s presentation
• Be brief and concise
• Be limited to 2 consecutive questions per judge. Each presenter’s research paper is provided to clarify any points made in the presentations that brief questioning cannot answer.

Students have been given the judging criteria and the following instructions:

• Prepare a 12-minute uninterrupted oral presentation timed and managed by moderators. The moderator will indicate briefly when 10 minutes have elapsed, indicating the presentation has 2 minutes remaining.
• At 12 minutes, the moderator indicates again and asks for questions from judges. Students must stop even if their presentation is not finished. Continuing may reflect negatively on their presentation.
• The 4-minute Question-and-Answer period begins at the end of the student’s presentation.
• The presentation should be an unhurried interpretation of visuals which includes: review of literature, experimentation, results and significance of the results.
• All presentations should include:
  • Introduction/review of literature
  • Results/conclusions/significance of findings
  • Methods and materials
  • Statement of purpose
  • Discussion

Audio Usage: No audio or background music is permitted other than sounds that are an integral part of the research. The speaker must do all narration.

Handouts or scientific equipment are not permitted.

Rubrics will be shared soon!