Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research Conference (MURC)

MURC is an annual conference for UBC undergraduate students to showcase their research

About the conference

The Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research Conference (MURC) is a conference for UBC undergraduate students to showcase their research in front of their fellow UBC students, family, and friends. Researchers may choose one of two formats to showcase their research: presentation or poster.

MURC 2022 took place successfully on Sat, Mar 19 to Sun, Mar 20, 2022! Thank you to everybody involved for your participation and continued support in making MURC 2022 possible. If you are interested to be part of the Planning Committee for MURC 2023, please check back in August 2022 for updates.

In-person requirements

In compliance with the Public Health Orders, if you are attending in person, you'll be asked to show your UBCcard for admission. If you do not have one, you'll be asked to provide proof of vaccination. Masks must be worn at all times.

Who presents at MURC?

Any UBC undergraduate student who is participating in, or has completed, their own UBC Faculty-supervised research project can apply to present at Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research Conference (MURC). All Faculties and Schools are welcome. Find more details on presenting at MURC.

Application to present at MURC 2022 is now closed.

MURC 2022 publication

In 2022, MURC conference abstracts were published in the Undergraduate Research in Natural and Clinical Science and Technology Journal (URNCST). URNCST is a leading open access, indexed, and international peer-reviewed publication for undergraduate research. The journal publishes abstracts for undergraduate conferences and case competitions and promotes innovative undergraduate research education initiatives. You can view the MURC 2022 publication.

Keynote sessions

Register for and join the opening and closing keynote sessions. You'll need to register for the sessions separately even if you have registered for MURC.

Opening Keynote: Dr. Jennifer Grenz

The MURC Keynote happened on Sat, Mar 19, 2022 at 9:00 am PDT on Zoom.

Jennifer has a B.Sc in Agroecology and a PhD in Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems from the University of British Columbia. Her scholarly interests revolve around invasive species management, ecological restoration, and science communication, and she brings with her nearly two decades of experience providing consulting services and on-the-ground management of invasive species for all levels of government and working with Indigenous communities on creating food security plans and land healing initiatives. Jennifer is a proud Nlaka‘pamux woman of mixed ancestry whose family comes from the Lytton First Nation (though she grew up on the coast of BC).

Watch the recording

Closing Keynote: Rogers 5G Research with Jonah Eisen and Zihan Wang

The MURC Keynote Workshop and Closing Remarks happened on Sun, Mar 20, 2022 at 4:00 am PDT on Zoom.

Rogers is rolling out its nation-leading 5G, or fifth generation, network. This session will provide an introduction to the benefits of 5G over its predecessors, how it achieves those improvements, and some of the exciting opportunities that this network brings.

Technology Strategy Analysists Jonah Eisen and Zihan Wang will be facilitating the session.

Hear the closing remarks by MURC co-chairs and executive after the session.

Get involved

Present at MURC
Are you an undergraduate student with a passion that you want to share with the rest of UBC through research?
Volunteer at MURC
Get involved in one of two ways: be a volunteer or an adjudicator!
Attend MURC
Are you interested in seeing what other undergraduate students are up to in research?

2022 Winners

Congratulations to our MURC 2022 Winners.

Poster presentation (in-person)

First Place (Winner of MURC x Rogers Top Poster Presentation Prize of a $100 gift card)
Presentation Title: Perspectives of Hospital Pharmicists on Quality Improvement Initiatives in Patient Care
Presenter: Ting-An Cheng
Second Place
Presentation Title: OFWs in Canada: Transnational labour at the intersection of colonial, imperial, and state-sanctioned violence after Philippine Independence
Presenter: Jasmine Manango
Third Place
Presentation Title: Development of an Omnidirectional Surrogate Neck
Presenter: Genevieve Bonnor

Oral presentation (in-person)

First Place (Winner of MURC x Rogers Top Oral Presentation Prize of a $100 gift card)
Presentation Title: How does a galaxy die? Determining the star formation history from a galaxy's spectrum
Presenter: Shannon MacFarland
Second Place
Presentation Title: Priming is Affected when Navon Dimensions are Modified: Examining Visual Search Performance
Presenter: Kevin Zhang
Third Place
Presentation Title: SIDEKICK: A co-design approach to social robot development with families living with pediatric anxiety
Presenter: Jaya Kailley

Virtual presentation

First Place (Winner of MURC x Rogers Top Virtual Presentation Prize of a $100 gift card)
Presentation Title: Platinum (II) Salphen Complex for Cost & Energy Efficient OLED Displays
Presenter: Bennett Tan
Second Place
Presentation Title: From Victims to Visionaries: Representations of Older Asian Adults in Canadian News Media during COVID-19
Presenter: Lynda Li
Third Place
Presentation Title: Application of Random Forest in Predicting Breast Cancer Progression
Presenter: Lotus Wei