The ballroom of the new Student Union took on the atmosphere of a shopping bazaar crossed with a science fair and book festival recently when the Office of Undergraduate Research hosted Chapman University’s first university-wide Faculty Research Expo.

Students packed the room, perusing displays about faculty members’ research, projects and latest books in a variety of fields, ranging from public health to entrepreneurial studies.

“All this is really interesting,” said history major Jared Wallace ’13, as he examined Julye Bidmead’s display about her archeological work at Megiddo in Israel, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. “It shows us that the research methods we’re learning now really do have applications.”

This year’s expo was an expansion of the annual research fair previously hosted by the Schmid College of Science and Technology and is representative of the university’s increased support for undergraduate research opportunities, said Chris Kim, Ph.D., associate professor, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and director of the Office of Undergraduate Research.

“We plan to use this as a way to continue to build the culture of research and scholarship that involves both university faculty and students,” Dr. Kim said.

The Undergraduate Research Expo will be held in spring and will likewise include student research from throughout the seven colleges.