Symposium to showcase student research

Author: Chi Zhang

The first annual Spring Student Symposium, which will display the fruits of student research, will take place on Friday, April 13, in McCardell Bicentennial Hall. The half-day symposium, the result of a recommendation in the Strategic Plan, will showcase more than 50 multi-disciplinary research projects undertaken by students.

At the symposium, students will take to the podium to demonstrate their expertise in their respective fields. Faculty and the local community have also been invited to witness the product of student research efforts. By housing the event in a centralized location, the audience will be able to attend several presentations that they are interested in and stay on to explore others.

"We have 80 percent of the departments represented by at least one project," said Professor of Geology and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Research Patricia Manley, "and we have freshman, sophomore and junior projects as much as senior projects."

Many students participating in the symposium based their projects on personal interests.

McConnell Franklin '10, one of nine first-year students participating in the symposium, translated his fondness for maps into a self-initiated project named Mapping Middlebury. With a GIS meter, a bike and some help from Library and Information Services (LIS), he recorded the trails around the greater Middlebury area and uploaded the data onto Google Earth to construct a topographical map.

"I am going to carry this project through the rest of my Middlebury years," said Franklin.

The symposium will also feature a number of science projects that will provide an opportunity to access topics that are normally highly specialized and not easily understood. The majority of the science projects will be presented in poster form to facilitate understanding of unfamiliar concepts.

In addition, Associate Dean of Student Affairs Karen Guttentag highlighted projects that are set against the background of the Middlebury community. Karina Arrue '07, for example, started a blog project that explored the topic of religion and spirituality at Middlebury College and how it intersects with academia. She praised the symposium for allowing such intimate issues to be raised and discussed in the community in which they originated.

"We are delighted to be able to offer those presentations in the context of larger themes," said Guttentag, "because students can see it locally and then explore it nationally and internationally."

Other featured projects include a cross-disciplinary examination of immigration and dance titled The Colombian Diaspora in Paris, an incisive introduction to dental health, Cavities 101, a performance presentation of original jazz compositions and Vermont Maple Syrup Flavor Profiles and Possible Geochemical Determinants, where audience members will be able to taste-test the famed local product.

Student presenters will share with the College community not only the results of their projects, but also the spirit of research, and the projects, Guttentag hopes, will "fascinate students and inspire all to explore research topics and opportunities on their own."

"We believe the more experiential, hands-on learning opportunities we offer, the better the educational experience will get," Guttentag added. "We have myriad opportunities on campus, and we want to excite the students about the possibility of a research project."

Guest speaker Erich Osterberg '99 will open the event with a speech following introductory remarks by President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz. A Fullbright scholar who has done extensive research on underwater chimneys and canyons on New Zeland's continental shelf, Osterberg will explain how his undergraduate research experiences are basis of and starting point for his future project goals.

The projects will be grouped not by disciplines, but by theme, thanks to the meticulous efforts of the organizing committee. Themes range from Representations and Reality, Health and the Human Body, to The Natural Environment of Vermont, Space, and Mutual Reflections: Politics and the Arts.

"It is not easy to identify unifying themes," said Guttentag, "but we wanted to have interesting cross-disciplinary presentations."

The symposium has received significant support from the faculty and administration, and will be thereafter included in the Strategic Plan. Manley and Guttentag hoped that the germinal practices of the Symposium could be expanded and fine-tuned in the future.

"There are, for example, creative works to be done in terms of integrating foreign language projects into the symposium," said Guttentag.

"The Symposium could be expanded from a half-day event to a one-day celebration on campus," said Manley.

The event will conclude with a reception replete with menu items that are produced locally and/or through sustainable practices. The complete schedule is available online at the Office of Undergraduate Research Web site.