Science Symposium showcases research of 62 science students Sept. 25
On Friday, September 25, science students at the University of Richmond will present the results of their summer research to faculty, peers, and community members at the University’s Science Symposium, which is sponsored by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
The Science Symposium showcases the work students have completed while conducting scientific research. From 3:00 to 4:30 p.m., 58 students will give poster presentations in the Gottwald Science Center’s atrium. Beginning at 4:45 p.m., four students—Kendra Cunningham, Sally Fisher, Joon Kim, and Dan Popescu—will each give 15-minute oral presentations on their research in the Gottwald Science Center's auditorium (A001).
Dr. Bruce Levin, the Samuel C. Dobbs Professor of Biology at Emory University, will give the symposium’s keynote address at 7:15 in the Gottwald auditorium. His talk is titled “Evolutionary Biology is More than a Precious Academic Enterprise: Implications for Human Health.” The talk will focus on antibiotic resistance and infectious disease.
Levin conducts theoretical and empirical studies of population biology; the evolution of bacteria and their accessory genetic elements; and the dynamics, evolution, and control of infectious disease among populations. His lab develops and analyzes the properties of mathematical and computer simulation models and experiments with laboratory populations of bacteria (primarily, but not exclusively E. coli) and their plasmids, phage, and transposons.
The University is committed to inviting as many students as possible to live on campus each summer, engaging in independent research with a faculty mentor. In 2009, 188 students received research fellowships to conduct research both on and off campus.
Two of the University’s largest sources for undergraduate research grants are the School of Arts & Sciences and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Faculty in the School of Arts & Sciences won the University’s first HHMI grant for $900,000 in 2004. Their application focused on encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration and research in the sciences. The School received its second grant, for $1.4 million, in 2008 to continue funding undergraduate research initiatives and to support the creation and implementation of a new course in integrated quantitative science.
Posted September 2, 2009