From dinosaur eggshells to the gasoline additive MTBE, the contributions of UC Davis undergraduates to research will be in the spotlight when more than 140 participate in the university's 10th annual Undergraduate Research Conference Saturday, April 24. Some of the students, who will present research findings to faculty, administrators and students, have participated in the research with faculty members. Others have conducted their own research with faculty guidance. Their topics -- representing more than 50 academic departments -- range from an analysis of dinosaur eggshells to the appeal of the television show "Xena: Warrior Princess" and from the use of coalitions by male rhesus macaques to improve their hierarchical position to George MacDonald's place in the development of 20th century imaginative literature. "Research universities are criticized for putting faculty research ahead of teaching undergraduates, but that isn't true here," says conference chair and pre-graduate adviser Maryann Semons. "Research is part of the culture of this institution, and all of our students -- undergraduates as well as graduates -- have numerous opportunities to get involved." The conference acquaints undergraduates with the rigors of presenting academic research and encourages them to pursue careers in research and teaching, Semons says. Some students will make 15-minute presentations and then take questions for five minutes; others, who have prepared posters about their research, will talk individually with those who indicate an interest in the topic. The conference, free and open to the public, will begin at 8 a.m. in Freeborn Hall, and the oral presentations will follow at 9 a.m. in Wellman Hall. The event will conclude at 2 p.m.