Move over Einstein, a new generation of scientific thinkers is making its way into the field of biology.

More than 100 UA students displayed their research in various scientific fields including breast cancer, quantum research and genetics at the Life Science South building, Saturday.

The 16th annual Undergraduate Biology Research Program presented 85 different projects and provided students with the opportunity to present their experimental results, said Carol Bender, program director.

"(They present) their results to a broad audience that includes scientists, family members, friends, precollege students, members of the general public, ...university officials and each other," Bender said. "It is quite exciting to see what the students have accomplished."

In addition to student presentations, the program featured an awards ceremony and keynote address by Pierre Balding, author and professor of information and computer science and biological chemistry at the Institute for Genomics and Bioinformatics at the University of California at Irvine.

Aside from featuring student work, the program is also meant to show the influence the UA has on the scientific community, Bender said.

"The University of Arizona is a terrific place for students to learn science by doing research. The university has the facilities to investigate almost any question a student could ask," Bender said.

"This is one of the wonderful things about being at an institution like this and students should take advantage of it. It will enhance their educational experience and what they discover could be of benefit to all of us!" she said.

The conference is also essential to the furthering of scientific research, said Sadie Iverson, environmental science senior.

"This particular conference is important because it helps undergraduates sort of learn what it's like to be part of the scientific community," Iverson said. "It lets them know whether they want to go this way in the future, and if they do, then this is good preparation so that during grad school when they go to conferences, it's not all new."

When asked about the advice she would give for those aspiring to join the program or the field of biology, Iverson said to not be afraid to try it.

"I would say that you should be prepared to take a few hard courses and that just whenever you hear about an opportunity like this, just try it, even if you think you are not qualified yet," Iverson said. "You don't lose anything by applying because they are great experiences."

Kate Taralova, a computer science junior, and Tim Spriggs, a computer engineering junior, focused their research on the importance of quantum and molecular computing in "Beyond Silicon Computing - Exploring How Nature Computes."

According to Taralova, scientists are trying to use what happens in nature to further the speed and capability of computing.

"The basic idea is to look at how nature manipulates things at the molecular level and try and use that," said Taralova.

Taralova is also the president of the Quantum and Molecular Computing Club at the UA and is trying to encourage others to join to share their ideas on the field.

"It is a brand new field, so we're definitely looking at undergraduate students to get involved in this," Taralova said. "We need students from different fields to come together and work (on the project)."

Joseph Carroll, biochemistry and molecular biophysics sophomore, presented his group's findings on "A Genetic Approach to Identify Genes Involved in Acquired Thermotolerance in Arabidopis Thaliana."

"I am trying to identify genes involved in acquired thermotolerance in the model plant, Arabidopis Thaliana," Carroll said. "Plants only survive certain temperatures. For example, house plants can only survive under a certain degree, so we are trying to discover why they can do that."

Overall, the students at the conference agreed the undergraduate research program is important for their fields of study and also for gaining valuable research experience.

"It is very important. Students have the opportunity to show their work to the community, to show their work to other groups. It's also a great way to practice presenting different research," Taralova said.