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The Commonwealth Honors College has announced that Reena Randhir will be the keynote speaker for its annual Massachusetts Undergraduate Research Conference (MassURC), to be held at the Campus Center on Friday, April 17.

Randhir, associate professor of biological sciences at Springfield Technical Community College, will deliver her address, “The Power of Scientific Thinking,” at 9:15 a.m. in the Marriott Center, located on the 11^th floor of the Campus Center. Her talk will examine how scientific thinking fosters problem-solving and resilience, highlighting lessons learned through experimentation and setbacks, and how to extend these lessons outside the classroom.

“Scientific reasoning and logic are powerful ways of thinking that can lead us closer to the truth. The more we practice them, the more natural they become, until they begin to shape how we see the world,” Randhir says. “To me, that is the gift of science: it transforms the mind. It pushes out fear and replaces it with curiosity, hope and courage. It teaches us to learn from mistakes, not be defeated by them, and to keep moving forward.”

More than 1,000 undergraduate students from public colleges and universities across Massachusetts are expected to attend the conference, which showcases student research in more than 60 subject areas, including biochemistry, history, architecture, marketing, fine arts and sociology.

Students from the state’s 28 two- and four-year degree public higher education institutions will present their work in poster format in the Campus Center’s lower level, providing guests the opportunity for discovery, discussion and networking.

Mari Castañeda, dean of Commonwealth Honors College, described the conference as a distinctive statewide tradition that brings together undergraduate researchers to share knowledge and build connections.

The conference is supported by Commonwealth Honors College, the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, the State Universities of Massachusetts Council of Presidents and the Massachusetts Association of Community Colleges.

For more information, visit the MassURC website or contact Nina Prenosil, MassURC conference coordinator and events assistant for Commonwealth Honors College, at [email protected].