Welcome
to the 9th Annual Creative Collaborations Conference! This year’s Creative Collaborations marks two important milestones in the University of San Diego’s effort to strengthen undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activities. First, we have more participation than ever before — 175 posters and exhibits presented by 282 undergraduate students. Second, the conference was organized and run by the newly established Office of Undergraduate Research. The office, which opened in the beginning of the 2011-2012 academic year, will continue to plan and oversee Creative Collaborations in future years. Many of our students who participate in Creative Collaborations also publish their work in academic journals and present their projects at national, international and regional conferences. These projects often lead to graduate school acceptances and prestigious scholarship awards. The high-quality work you see reflects the outstanding mentoring abilities of USD faculty, as well as the intellectual curiosity of our undergraduate students. We invite you to view and experience a variety of presentations during this celebration of faculty-student scholarly collaboration. The presentations you will see represent work from all of our undergraduate units, including the physical and natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, fine arts, engineering, business and education. Enjoy the conference! Sincerely,
Julie H. Sullivan, PhD
Sarah Kriz, PhD
Executive Vice President and Provost
Director, Office of Undergraduate Research