On Thursday, Sept. 22, the Koshland Integrated Natural Science Center (KINSC) hosted its annual Undergraduate Science Research Symposium. All Haverford students who participated in scientific research this past summer were given the opportunity to create and present posters on their individual experiences. The opportunity to present was open to any student who conducted research, whether that research was associated with Haverford or another institution.
The symposium, which started this year at 4 p.m. to allow for more student attendance, opened with lightning talks by 10 student researchers, selected by the KINSC Steering Committee. Covering a variety of disciplines, each talk was approximately five minutes, leaving room for questions afterwards. Logan Smith ‘23, Hikaru Jitsukawa ‘23, Rachel Langgin BMC ‘23, Dori Hoffman BMC ‘23, Oscar Garrett ‘23, Amanda Halliday ‘23, Selena She ‘23, Maisie Smith ‘23, and Hannah Harrison ‘24 were the student speakers.
Following a break for dinner, attendees were then encouraged to examine the student researchers’ posters, which were hung throughout the KINSC buildings, via a self-guided tour. Many of the 86 posters were accompanied by a QR code, which, when scanned, provided a brief audio summary of the research project.
“We felt that this structure worked well last year and decided to continue a KINSC-wide presentation for the posters,” explained Marielle Latrick, associate director of the KINSC. “The posters will be on display for a whole week with audio files to accompany many of them, so you can hear each project’s ‘elevator pitch.’”
Attendees then reconvened in Sharpless Auditorium for a Q&A session with a panel of seven students who conducted research across disciplines: Christina McBride ‘23, Ashley Schefler ‘23, Selena She ‘23, Ravi Eaton ‘24, Petra Mengistu ‘24, Rebecca Osbaldeston ‘24, and Samantha Gonzalez ‘25. They answered questions about their own experiences, challenges, and what they learned.
“The Q&A session was geared towards students who are interested to know more about applying for summer research projects, and working in research groups both on or off campus,” Latrick said. She hopes that the lightning talks, the Q&A, as well as the research posters throughout the KINSC, will make research opportunities more visible and accessible to the broader student body.
