Penn-York Undergraduate Research Conference

The PYURA sponsors the yearly conference at different colleges in Pennsylvania and New York.

Overview of PYURA

The Pennsylvania - New York Undergraduate Research Association (PYURA), founded in 1998, is a loose association of colleges and universities along the western and central Pennsylvania - New York state borders. The first conference, hosted by the University of Pittsburgh’s Bradford campus, took place in 1999, and conferences have run on an annual basis with little exception. Member schools have varied throughout the years, though our commitment to undergraduate research and scholarship has never wavered. All are welcome – regardless of field of study or home institution.

This Year’s Conference

This year, Pitt-Bradford is once again hosting the festivities. Showcasing our newest campus building, the George B. Duke Engineering and Information Technologies Building, we will welcome student presentations not only regarding scholarly work from across a huge variety of fields, but also artistic displays. We would like to formally invite any interested undergraduate student to join us in this celebration of student innovation, creativity, and research.

Specific Information:

The 2025 PYURA Conference will be held on Saturday, Nov 15th, 2025
In the George B. Duke Engineering and Information Technologies Building,
300 Campus Drive, Bradford, PA 16701

Please refer to the event locations on this campus map, and you can find directions to the campus and other area resources here.

Student presenters are encouraged to submit an abstract on or before October 10th, 2025.

Submit an abstract describing your project.

Projects may be presented as posters in a shared session in the Duke Building lobby, as an oral presentation in one of the Duke classrooms, or as an artistic display in the Duke Building lobby.

Registration is $15.00/person and includes a continental breakfast and lunch. Early registration (before Nov 10th, 2025) is strongly encouraged.

This year’s keynote speaker will be Dr Thomas Hegna and will be titled “Critical Thinking”.

This year, we are proud to thank our supporters and sponsors:

Planning committee:

Co-Chairs: Ovidiu Frantescu and Rebecca McHugh
Pitt-Bradford Faculty & Staff members: Lindsey Brandon, Helma deVries-Jordan, Warren Fass, Drew Flanagan, Adina Frantescu, Ryan Lee Meyers, Angie Wolfe
Pitt-Bradford Student members: Jason Cochran, Megan Kirsch, Alexander Miller, Lillian Vanderlaske, Enoki Wildman
And a special thank you to Tammy Dittman, David Fitz, Matt Kropf, Courtney Mealy, and everyone who helped with the Gifted Consortium Field trip, including Jeremy Callinan, and Robin Choo.