Fourteen graduate students from a variety of disciplines shared their academic research and vied for several cash awards at the ninth annual Graduate Student Research Symposium this weekend.
On Saturday, the students presented their research to a panel of five faculty judges including Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences (A&S) Susan Ernst and Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) Robin Kanarak.
"This is really one of the best times for a graduate dean," Kanarak said. "I have gotten to meet many students at this symposium."
Late Saturday afternoon, four cash prizes were given to the judges' favorite presentations. According to Kanarak, the deliberation process was not an easy one.
"It took us a long time to come to a decision," Kanarak said.
Biomedical engineer graduate student Leonardo Angelone ultimately won the top prize for his work on safety issues surrounding the simultaneous use of electroencephalogram (EEG) waves and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
"I entered into the symposium because I was trying to participate a little more with fellow graduate students," Angelone said.
The second place prize went to graduate student Joanna McGarry of the History Department for her research on United States-Latin American relations during the Kennedy Administration.
Third and fourth place went to graduate student Sonia Sorabella of the Civil Engineering Department and graduate student Ranjith Anand of the Biology Department, respectively.
The event, organized by the Graduate Student Council (GSC), allowed all graduate students to participate. Student work represented many departments, including psychology, drama and computer science.
According to GSC academic chair Stacy McHugh, the variety of represented subjects makes the symposium truly unique.
"[The symposium] is primarily a chance to share but also to honor what other graduate students do," McHugh said. "It's the one chance that we can gauge the fabulous research that fellow graduate students have done."
McHugh said that the judging criteria was "very general" and entailed looking at the "general quality of the project" in conjunction with the ability of the student to present his or her work to a "non-specific audience."
Angelone said that the symposium was challenging because he had to "try to be simple, yet accurate" when explaining his discoveries to judges who came from such diverse backgrounds.
"Yes, I deal with science, but in the end I must speak with people, subjects, and patients," Angelone said.
According to McHugh, graduate students began applying for the symposium in February. Some projects represented the culmination of students' graduate studies while others were merely side projects to larger research.
