The Undergraduate Exhibition came to an end yesterday, culminating in a ceremony that announced the winners of the 10th annual fair.

Kelly J. Walkovich (senior-biochemistry and molecular biology) won first place in the Health and Life Sciences division and won the overall Gerard A. Hauser Research Prize for excellence.

The exhibition is a way for students involved in research to showcase both their research and their findings by way of a poster exhibit.

The posters, judged primarily on content, were to showcase the objectives, significance and methods of the research conducted.

Any student who conducted research in conjunction with a faculty adviser was eligible for the contest.

Seventy-nine students participated in this year's fair, entering in six different divisions -- arts and humanities, engineering, health and life sciences, physical sciences, social and behavioral sciences, and performances.

The judging was based on 50 percent content, 30 percent display and 20 percent on an oral presentation.

Two faculty members, who worked in the field related to the project, and a student not familiar with the research, judged the exhibition.

"All of these students are winners," Joanne Rutkowski, coordinator of the exhibition, said.

Cheryl Achterberg, dean of the Schreyer Honors College, stressed that research is an essential key to the undergraduate education.

"Research is very near and dear to my heart," she said.

"Research is not only important, it's a critical part of one's education."

Achterburg said research is important because it teaches knowledge, theoretical insight and abstract principles.

The winning posters of the undergraduate exhibition are currently displayed in Atherton Hall.