Diet, student alcohol use, and sustainability are among topics for the 2010 Mountain Lion Research Day.

The second annual come-and-go event is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. April 2 in the University Center Banquet Hall/Ballroom. And while the average person might not give much thought to ferroelectric nanoparticles, flaxseed consumption or microscale physics, these are also among the wide range of topics UCCS researchers investigated.

The event, sponsored by the El Pomar Institute for Innovation and Commercialization and the Office of Research and Innovation, is designed to showcase the research efforts of UCCS faculty and students and to encourage collaboration between UCCS faculty and faculty at other colleges, as well as with local business. More than 60 faculty members and graduate students will present research endeavors from their various disciplines on posters summarizing their projects, according to Bev Wasinger, El Pomar program assistant.

Michael Larson, El Pomar endowed chair of engineering and innovation and associate vice chancellor of  research and innovation, stresses the importance of research and the responsibility of UCCS researchers to interact with other institutions and the private sector.

"Innovation doesn't happen in a vacuum," Larson said before last year's event. "The more people we have involved, the higher our odds of finding the combination that sparks a new idea."

Wasinger noted that researchers must have taken his words to heart, because there are about 20 more projects than last year entered for 2010.

The Mountain Lion Research Day 2010 schedule of events:

• 7:30 a.m. – Presenter set-up. Posters are available for viewing all morning.
• 8:30 a.m. – Poster presentations
• 9 a.m. – Featured speaker: Rebecca Webb, assistant professor, mechanical and aerospace engineering
• 10 a.m. – Featured speaker: David Havlick, assistant professor, geography and environmental studies
• 11 a.m. – Featured speaker: Anatoliy Pinchuk, assistant professor, physics
• 11:45 a.m. – Luncheon welcome: Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak
• Noon – Keynote speaker: Lindy Crawford, associate dean, education

There is no cost to attend but luncheon reservations are required. Contact Wasinger, bwasinge@uccs.edu or 255-3631 for reservations or for more information.