Spring symposium showcases research

Author: Jaime Fuller

Last Friday, over 100 students showcased their undergraduate research either through visual or oral presentation in McCardell Bicentennial Hall during the Second Annual Spring Student Symposium. Members of the College community met in Great Hall to acknowledge the work completed over the school year by Middlebury students.

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The event opened with remarks by President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz and Elana Wilson Rowe '01, who shared her experience with undergraduate research at Middlebury and graduate research at the University of Cambridge.

"The symposium gives students the opportunity to put into practice what they have learned in their field or course of study," said Liebowitz. "I think the symposium is a great idea. It is always exciting to have an occasion to celebrate the accomplishments of Middlebury students."

The Student Symposium began last year as an opportunity to showcase variety of intellectual learning that goes on outside the classroom. Events like these are often the only chance that students have to recognize the discoveries that are being made outside of their field of study. As Associate Dean of Undergraduate Research Patricia Manley and Karen Guttentag, the and organizers of the symposium, wrote in the program, "As this type of event had no precedent at Middlebury, we imagined that it would serve as a snapshot of the health of Middlebury's intellectual community."

Judging by the attendance of this year's Student Symposium, it does not seem as if enthusiasm has waned in the College community respecting the celebration of undergraduate work. Guttentag only had positive things to say concerning this year's event.

"In terms of quality of materials from presenters, the volume and diversity of topics and the preparation and professionalism of students, this year's symposium has been terrific so far," said Guttentag.

Even though the symposium was housed in Bicentennial Hall, the presentations were not limited to the scientific realm of research. The presentations ran the gamut from a presentation entitled "The Effects of Testosterone and Luteinizing Hormone on Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis" by Robert Hawkins '08 to "The Spanish Lady 'Forgotten': American Historical Memory and the Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919, presented by Derek Long '08. Students presented on a wide variety of topics, ranging from their experiences abroad to their 700 theater projects, including poetry readings and even a film screening.

Posters lined the walls of Great Hall, and attendees often stopped to gaze at them while they waited for the oral presentations that piqued their interest to begin. The posters spanned just as broad a spectrum of topics as the oral presentations including "The Glycation Reaction of Ribose 5-Phosphate" and "Horse Heart Myoglobin" by Andrew Livermore '08 and Andrew Harris '08 and "The Impact of Environmental Change in the Adirondack Lowland Boreal: Creating a Monitoring Plan" by Gustave Goodwin '08.

Jeffrey Cloutier '09, who presented a poster concerning the "Investigation of Protein-Protein Interactions between HEI10 and Cyclin B3," thought that the collaboration between students and faculty at Middlebury is unique and instrumental to the College's image as a great liberal arts institution.

"It's nice to be able to work the faculty so closely," said Cloutier. "I worked at the University of Washington last summer and only saw my professor twice. Here I see my professor nearly every day."

Between presentations, participants could enjoy musical performances by two of the College's a cappella groups, the Paradiddles and the Mischords. The symposium ended with a reception in Bicentennial Hall where the presenters and the rest of the College community joined together to eat a full menu dinner of sustainable and locally grown foods, including vegetarian sushi from Waterbury and venison sausage from Burlington, as they watched the sun set through the giant window in Great Hall.

The administration approved a change earlier this year to the academic calendar that would cancel classes on the Friday of the Spring Student Symposium to allow for greater attendance of the event. The change, which will take effect next year, eliminates the Friday off before Winter Carnival, a move which has angered some students and sparked a successful Student Government Association proposal to reinstate the day off for Winter Carnival. In recent days, administration officials have hinted that the long-weekend will ultimately be restored, though no details have been released as to when.

Some who presented at the symposium did not believe such a change in the calendar is necessary because they felt students still had the opportunity to enjoy the symposium under the current course schedule.

"A lot of classes don't meet on Friday," said Cloutier. "As long as it starts at noon it should be fine."