Each year, five undergraduate students from Syracuse University join students from the 14 other Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) institutions to showcase their research or creative work at the ACC Meeting of the Minds (MoM) conference. This year’s conference is the 16th annual and will be held from Friday, April 10, through Sunday, April 12, at Florida State University.

Students interested in attending this year’s conference need to apply by Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. All travel, lodging and meal expenses are funded for student presenters.

“Meeting of the Minds is a valuable opportunity for outstanding students to present and receive feedback on their intellectually engaging research and creative work,” says Odette Marie Rodriguez, assistant director of the Syracuse Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Engagement (SOURCE) who will accompany the students to MoM. “They’ll get the chance to meet students from across the country and enjoy sunny Florida weather in April at our host institution for this year, Florida State University. Meeting of the Minds allows us to showcase the very best of undergraduate student researchers at SU, and the Syracuse Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Engagement (SOURCE) MoM committee enjoys preparing the students to share an effective and professional presentation of their work.”

A panel of faculty members and staff select the presenters based on the academic quality of the project, clarity of expression in the proposal, completeness of research/creative project, independence of the project and potential impact of the conference participation to help the student achieve their goals. The students selected will work with the MoM committee to prepare their oral or poster presentations.

Last year, Ayla Ray ’27, a biology major in the College of Arts and Sciences and environment, sustainability and policy major in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, presented on the stability of common mycorrhizal networks (underground fungal networks that connect plants) under warming and drought. Other students presented a multimedia journalism project on the Erie Canal, a creative project exploring reuse and sustainable fashion, an architecture exhibition on spatial storytelling in horror film and an anthropology study of U.S. peacemaking efforts in Bosnia.

“During the Meeting of the Minds you become extremely close with your fellow SU presenters, but also with students from up and down the East Coast,” says Ray.  “Breaks were filled with collaboration and networking. I met incredibly intelligent individuals and exchanged ideas regarding graduate school opportunities, scientific techniques, Fulbright programs and more. Leaving the conference, I felt that I had not only developed my presentation abilities but had also gained a cohort of peers and connections. I strongly encourage students to apply for this opportunity.”

For more information about the 2026 MoM Conference, contact Kate Hanson, director of the SOURCE, at khanso01@syr.edu or visit the SOURCE website.