Undergraduate Conference on Research, Scholarship, and the Arts

CSI Undergraduate Conference 2026, Thursday April 30th
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CSI UNDERGRADUATE CONFERENCE
Research, Scholarship, and the Arts

Thursday, April 30, 2026 
1P – Center for the Arts
 

2026 Conference Photo Gallery

Contact Information
Office of the Associate Provost
Building 1A, Room 211
Phone: 718-982-2341
Contact Via Email

2026 Poster Prize Winners (in no particular order):

 

  • "Motion-Controlled Robotic Arm" — presented by Alex Sammy-Guilarte, Mirzosamandar Mirzovaliev, and Professor Jessica Jiang of Engineering and Environmental Science

  • "Microbial Communities, Insects, and Animals in Forensic Analyses" — presented by Julia Kalinowski, Isabella Cucchiara, Lauren Ferguson, and Professor Michelle Esposito of Biology

  • "The effects of URB-597 on sociability in the BTBR mice" — presented by Emmy DeMuro and Professor Michelle Esposito of Biology

  • "The Nurse's Role Related to the Impact of Birth Settings on Maternal Mortality in the United States" — presented by Alexandra Doyle and Professor Magalie Pantermarakis of Nursing

  • "AI-Driven Marketing: The Influence of Artificial Intelligence on Digital Marketing and Consumer Behavior" — presented by Christina Mellika and Professor Nancy Guo of Marketing

  • "From Blocks to Marshmallows: Exploring Symmetry" — presented by Alexandra Balsamo, Gianna Tirado, Professors Judit Kerekes, Mona Kotb, and Jonathan Rubin of Mathematics

  • "Comparing different AI models to elucidate satellite tracking spatial errors" — presented by Avi Cagan and Professor Lisa Manne of Biology

  • "Motivation in the Workplace: Enhancing Employee Performance" — presented by Adrianna Catanzaro and Professor Lauren Mullins of Management

  • "Machine Learning for Identification of Tandem Repeats" — presented by Daniel Chelala and Professor Sarah Zelikovitz of Computer Science

  • "Phosphate and oxalate Sponge-mimic tubules: Cell culture imaging and characterization for bioengineering applications" — presented by Xinyi Weng, Destiny Richard, and Professor Krishnaswami Raja of Chemistry

The annual conference on research, scholarship, and the arts is one of the hallmarks of the spring semester at CSI. The 2026 Undergraduate Conference marks our twenty-fifth year! This event highlights scholarly and creative projects by students majoring in all disciplines, showcasing academic excellence through student-faculty collaboration, offering a rewarding and educational experience for all.

The conference is open to the entire campus community and friends of the College - students of all majors and class years are especially encouraged to attend. This is a great opportunity to discover, cultivate, and inspire new ideas and interests. The major goals of the conference are:

  • Recognition of undergraduate research and creative work as highly valued teaching and learning experiences at the College
  • Celebration of academic excellence
  • Promotion of student-faculty collaboration and interaction in all aspects of teaching/learning
  • Development of student professional growth outside of classrooms

To register as a presenter, you will need to work with a faculty mentor to develop and abstract and poster for submission. The deadline for abstract submissions is on March 3rd, 2026. Don't wait until the last minute to begin preparing! For more information, please see the "Official Guidelines" page. 

NEW FOR 2026: This year, we have an external reviewer who will review all submitted abstracts. This reviewer is external to CSI but based within the CUNY system. Submissions will be anonymized, and the reviewer may choose to leave feedback for participants. Any submitted abstracts will be held in confidence until published in the program booklet in April.

NEW FOR 2026: To encourage students to be proud of their research and scholarship, we are piloting a friendly poster contest at this year’s Undergraduate Conference. During the conference on April 30th, judges will walk around the 1P atrium and judge each poster on its design and the student(s)’ explanation of the poster. Each department will have one winner for the best-designed poster and one winner for the best-explained poster. We will be sharing specific judging criteria in March. 

Q: What is an abstract?

A: An abstract is a short summary of your research that explains the main objectives, how you conducted it, what you found, and why it matters. It gives readers a quick understanding of your work.

Q: Do I have to participate?

A: Although participation in the conference is not mandatory, we strongly encourage second, third, and fourth-year students who have been mentored and sponsored by a CSI faculty member and are currently working on a research or scholarly project to participate and showcase their work.

Q: WHY should I participate?

A: Regardless of your plans after graduation, you will need to be able to communicate your ideas effectively and concisely in a variety of formats. This conference is a low-stakes chance for you to practice organizing your ideas and sharing your work. You can also put this experience on your resume and LinkedIn, and use what you learn from this experience in answering job interview questions.

Q: I've never made a research poster before. How do I start?

A: We will be more than happy to help you! In the Spring 2026 semester (dates TBA), we will be hosting preparation workshops on abstract writing, poster creation, and public speaking/presentation skills.

Q: I have more questions. How do I get them answered?

A: Email us at UGconference@csi.cuny.edu. We'll be here to answer any questions you might have along the way!

Programs and Abstracts: Please send an email to UGConference@csi.cuny.edu to request alternative access to these documents.

Disclaimer and Affirmation for Participants and Attendees

I understand that this event will be recorded. I hereby grant the College of Staten Island and The City University of New York (CUNY) permission to use my name, the name of the educational program in which I am enrolled, and my photograph, video or any recording of me taken for any purpose that CUNY may deem appropriate, including without limitation educational uses, promotion and publicity of CUNY and its programs and activities, in perpetuity in in-house publications as well as in all other media, whether now known or later developed. I waive any right to inspect and approve such use. I agree to hold harmless CUNY from any liability that may arise from such use of my name, educational program and/or likeness.