UAlbany in the High School Science Research Invitational Symposium

Registration 

Registration for the symposium is due by Friday, February 6, 2026. 

To register, complete the Symposium Registration. The following items are required:

1. All attendees’ names and email addresses. (Including presenters, teachers, student observers, guests).
2. Student permission forms (uploaded as PDFs).
3. Acknowledgement of Registration Policy and Rules of Conduct.
4. Principal name and email address, to acknowledge registration. 

The registration portal flows as follows:

1. Teacher submits registration.
2. Principal receives unique link to confirm and acknowledge registration.
3. Teacher receives email confirming the registration has been fully submitted.

Student Presenters

Students wishing to present must apply by January 14, 2026, by submitting their application. They will be notified if they’re chosen to present by January 30. 

Payment

Registration fee = $50 per person. 
All attendees will be registered for the full day’s activities and meals.
An invoice will be generated upon registration, or earlier upon request.

Checks and purchase orders must be made payable to: Research Foundation for SUNY. Purchase orders may be emailed to [email protected].

Payment should be mailed to the following address:
UHS Attn: Leslie Hayner
1400 Washington Avenue
Management Services Center 312
Albany, NY 12222

Payment will not be accepted at the symposium.

Refunds in full for cancellations will be made until Wednesday, February 18, 2026.  After this date, no refunds will be granted.

School administrators and family members may purchase an ad in the symposium program. See the Program Ad Order Form for details. Any questions may be directed to [email protected]. 

Cost

• 1/4 page (4.25”x5.5”) = $50
• 1/2 page (8.5”x5.5”) = $100
• Full page (8.5”x11”) = $200
   

The abstract should accurately convey the essential nature of the research conducted and the most significant conclusions reached. A further purpose of the abstract is to attract the interest and curiosity of the non-specialist reader and thus encourage exchange, discussion, and elaboration between various authors and between authors and readers. 

The format for the abstract must be:

• 250 words maximum paragraph
• 1-inch margins
• Justified alignment
• Times New Roman
• Font size 11pt

View the abstract format example. Abstracts must be adequate in length but not exceed these specifications.

The header preceding the abstract body must include: 

1. Title of the research (bolded)
2. Student name
3. High school, high school city, high school state
4. Name of teacher(s). Precede their name with a subheading (Teacher)
5. Name of mentor and their organization. Precede their name with a subheading (Mentor)
6. Include one line of space between the heading and the abstract body

Save the abstract as a Microsoft Word document (.docx) and upload to the presenter application.

Symposium program will include abstracts, and they will not be edited or retyped. Accuracy must be ensured prior to submission.

Research should be original, if not completely unique. It must report findings not previously cited in scientific literature. It is important that: 

• Content and style be consistent with professional scientific conference papers. Consult with a mentor or teacher for proper format.
• Research is concise and progresses logically from hypothesis to conclusion.
• Conclusions (negative, positive or inconclusive) demonstrate that an attempt to prove the hypothesis was made using scientific principles.
• Correct grammar and spelling are used. Neatness and good presentation are also important.

Format

• Consult with a mentor or teacher for proper format of the research paper. (APA or MLA are most common.)
• Font: 11pt size
• Length: Maximum 30 pages, 1.5 spaced. (Not including cover letter, references, abstract, or table of contents)
• Page number listed on each page
• Photography, graphs, tables, diagrams, charts, or other graphic representation presented in the paper must be simply presented.
• Do not use any form of Artificial Intelligence to write text of your research paper.
• All content that is not generated by student must given credit to outside sources.

Recommended outline for the research paper includes:

• A title page, or cover page stating the student’s name, school address, and title of the research,
• Acknowledgement of major assistance received,
• As applicable, statement that “research involving non-human vertebrates or human subjects was conducted under the supervision of an experienced teacher or researcher and followed state and federal regulatory guidance applicable to the humane and ethical conduct of such research”,
• Table of contents,
• Introduction,
• Materials and methods,
• Results (data or findings),
• Discussion and conclusions,
• References, or literature cited, and
• Appendices (if necessary but please keep in mind that the introduction is far more valuable in the judging process than appendices of raw data)

Save the research paper as a PDF (.pdf) and upload to the presenter application.

Session Timing
10 minutes = Presentation
5 minutes = Q&A
5 minutes = Break between presenters

Presentation must not exceed 10 minutes, with slides as their only visual (Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides). A 5-minute question-and-answer period will follow the presentation. The moderator will maintain this schedule by making a non-audible warning at 8-minutes and stopping the presentation at 10-minutes if needed. The moderator will oversee 5 minutes of questions from the judging panel. Presenters should repeat each question before answering, so the audience can properly hear the entire dialogue. Presenters must not show any slides that were not shown during the 10-minute presentation, during the question-and-answer period. The moderator will disallow any questions they deem intended to harass the presenter.

Format Suggestions

Students may use Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides for their presentation.

• Always bring a backup of the presentation on a USB drive, in case of internet issues.

Student presenters are reminded to:

• Embed any video, or other presentation developed through other software, into their presentation.
• If using video, students must comply with the following ground rules:
  • The video component cannot make up more than one (1) minute of the presentation and must be directly relevant to the project.
  • No audio or background music is permitted other than sounds that are an integral part of the research. Recorded or mechanically produced narration is not permitted. Narration must come from the speaker.
  • Videos (and audio, if any) may be used only for those aspects of the presentation that cannot adequately be presented in a slide. Video material presented must be an integral part of the research and should not be a substitute for presentation of data. Videos must not be used for presentation of common procedures, illustrating equipment or showing laboratory facilities. Videos should illustrate work that was done and should not be used for stimulation or aesthetic value.

Technology
Presentations will be loaded onto the session laptops on Tuesday. Presenters must check in with the Room Supervisor to ensure their presentation is prepared during a designated break. Students must bring a backup copy of their presentation. 

Students will be notified of their session room, presentation time and type of computer used at least one week prior to the symposium. For technical assistance and/or questions about format, you may contact Leslie Hayner ([email protected]).

Presentations must be emailed to [email protected] on Tuesday, February 24th, by 3:00pm.

Presenters must stay for the awards ceremony on Wednesday evening.

Students submitting their research paper to the UAlbany in the High School Science Research Symposium must complete this form in full and submit it with the final research paper. Please type “N/A” in any field that is “not applicable” to your research.

Projects conducted without proper supervision will be disqualified.
 

Download Certification Form

Teachers who have no association with or allegiance to the student speakers will serve as moderators during the speaker presentations.

The moderator is responsible for timing and managing the speaker presentation. Moderators ensure that presentations do not exceed 10 minutes and that the speaker is signaled when there are two minutes left in their presentation time.

At the end of 10 minutes, if the speaker is not finished, the moderator must interrupt the speaker with an admonition that they may finish the sentence they are on and then stop speaking.

Moderators do not pose questions to the student presenters.

Moderators manage questions at the conclusion of the presentations for 5 minutes and gather the judging results.

Moderators also attend the judging sessions and compile brief, constructive critiques for verbal feedback to students and teachers upon request.

Moderators compile the judges’ ranking of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place students and deliver this information to the UHS Assistant Director of Special Events. 
 

General Duties

• Introduce each speaker’s name and title of research (refer to info sheet). We recommend asking each speaker in advance for the proper pronunciation of their names and terms used in their presentation titles.
• Introduce judges (refer to info sheet) at the beginning of the session.
• Announce to audience:
  • Turn off cell phones and devices.
  • Maintain a respectful silence and minimize movement during presentations.
  • No photographs or videos may be taken until the Question & Answer period.
  • Announce presentation schedule (below) and ask speakers to acknowledge you (by eye contact or nod) when you signal the 2-minute warning.
  • No coaching of any kind is allowed from any member of the audience.

Presentations: 

• 10 minutes are allotted for each student’s uninterrupted oral presentation.
• When precisely 8 minutes have elapsed in the presentation, briefly indicate that there are 2 minutes remaining, by standing and attempting eye contact with the presenter. Be sure the student sees and acknowledges you.
• When precisely 10 minutes have elapsed, stand and remain standing. Student must stop immediately. Begin taking questions from the judges.
• During the Question & Answer period (5-minutes), students may not show slides that were not part of their 10-minute presentation. 

Managing Questions

• 5 minutes are allotted for Question & Answer per presentation.
• Be sure the student repeats the question so everyone can hear it.
• Invite questions only from judges. No more than 2 consecutive questions should come from the same judge.
• Disallow any questions that, in your judgment, are designed to embarrass or denigrate. 

Deliberations

• The moderator must stay during the judges’ deliberations to take notes and summarize comments. Moderators should be prepared to give, upon request, an oral overview of the judges’ comments to students and/or teachers. Written comments are not to be given out.
• The moderator conveys the judges’ decisions to the UHS Assistant Director of Special Events.

Schedule

It is imperative that the following schedule be followed exactly. This schedule allows for attendees to relocate to a different room during the allotted break periods.

*There is a 15-min break after blocks 1 and 3, in addition to the guaranteed 5-minute break after each Q&A period.

We have set up group blocks at local hotels for Tuesday, February 24 and Wednesday, February 25, 2026. There are limited rooms available at each hotel so please make your reservations early. If you are claiming tax exempt status, include your school’s tax-exempt form. The company name on the tax-exempt form must be reflected on the payment type.

Courtyard Albany Thruway

Group Name: UHS Science Research Symposium

Reservations must be made by: 1/27/2026 

Rate per night: $117

Hampton Inn Albany University Area

Group Name: UHS Science Research Symposium / 90F

Reservations must be made by: 1/25/26   

Rate per night: $129

Reservations for attendees within the group block must be made by the dates stated above for each hotel, known as the “Cut-Off Date.” After the Cut-Off Date, the hotel will release any unreserved rooms for general sale, and determine whether or not it can accept reservations based on a space- and rate-available basis. It is strongly encouraged to make reservations by this date, so that the rate is guaranteed. Be sure to review each hotel’s policy in regards to deposit, credit cards, payments and cancellations.

Select 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners from your session based upon the students’ oral PowerPoint presentation. 

UAlbany in the High School Science Research Symposium recognizes students for original research achievements in the sciences, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM). The overall test is that students demonstrate valid investigation and experimentation aimed at discovery of knowledge.

Please review the judging rubrics prior to the symposium. Points listed are to serve as guidelines only and are not used to “score” presentations. See the rubric for full details of each category. Do not distribute the completed rubrics. 

Questions

Moderators keep time and manage questions. They are instructed to rule out of order questions that are inappropriate. Questions should: 

• Refer only to the student’s presentation
• Be brief and concise
• Be limited to 2 consecutive questions per judge. Each presenter’s research paper is provided to clarify any points made in the presentations that brief questioning cannot answer.

Students have been given the judging criteria and the following instructions:

• Prepare a 10-minute uninterrupted oral presentation timed and managed by moderators. The moderator will indicate briefly when 8 minutes have elapsed, indicating the presentation has 2 minutes remaining.
• At 10 minutes, the moderator indicates again and asks for questions from judges. Students must stop even if their presentation is not finished. Continuing may reflect negatively on their presentation.
• The 5-minute Question-and-Answer period begins at the end of the student’s presentation.
• The presentation should be an unhurried interpretation of visuals which includes: review of literature, experimentation, results and significance of the results.
• All presentations should include:
  • Introduction
  • Hypothesis or Statement of Purpose
  • Methods and Materials
  • Results/Data
  • Discussion/Conclusion

Audio Usage: No audio or background music is permitted other than sounds that are an integral part of the research. The speaker must do all narration.

Handouts or scientific equipment are not permitted.

Judging rubrics are used as guidelines only, not to "score" presentations. Completed rubrics are not to be shared with presenters.

Download Judging Rubric