March Science Pubs: "Lightning Talks"

March 16, 2018

By Amy Matzke-Fawcett

Science Pubs returns with "Lightning Talks" on March 21 at O'Connor Brewing in Norfolk.

"Lightning Talks" are five-minute or less talks given by graduate students from across the university.

Topics and speakers include:

• "Rising Seas and a Sinking City" by Ali Burgos, master's student in Oceanography
• "An Examination of Scientific Argumentation in an Elementary Inclusive Classroom" by Mindy Gumpert, Ph.D. candidate in Education
• "Cooperation is for the Birds" by Natasha Hagemeyer, Ph.D. candidate in Ecology
• "Harbored: Making History Interactive Through Digital Exhibition" by Stephanie Hawthorne, master's student at the Institute for the Humanities
• "Accessible Bioprinting: Design and Development of a 3D Bioprinting Device" by John Reid, Ph.D. candidate in Biomedical Engineering
• "Dealing with Angel Investors: The Anchoring Effect in Unstructured Negotiations" by Aydin Oksoy, Ph.D. candidate in Strategic Management
• "Campus Resource Usage by Victims of Sexual Violence" by Julie Stoner, Ph.D. candidate in Health Sciences Research Program

"This is a real opportunity for the students, who aren't full-time faculty like the usual Science Pub and may be new to sharing ­- although still extremely talented," said Bryan Porter, professor and assistant dean of the Graduate School. "It can be noisy, and it can be tough to tell people about their work in five minutes, but they're good communicators, good researchers and they will get a message across and do it well."

Networking begins at 6 p.m., followed by the talks at 6:30 p.m. A question and answer panel with all of the students will follow the talks.

"Any opportunity that where we can showcase our grad students' good work is one that we want to pursue," said Robert Wojtowicz, professor and dean of the Graduate School. "A brew pub may not seem the most logical place for students to present research, but it's a good place to reach people who can be informed about research; could become enthused about graduate study themselves; and who may spread the good word about what we're doing to friends and family."

Tom Socha, professor and graduate program director in the Lifespan and Digital Communication master of arts program in the Department of Communication, will host the event. The first 20 attendees to arrive will receive a free beverage ticket. RSVPs are recommended.

To close the 2017-18 academic year of Science Pubs on Thursday, April 26, Alison Stinely, assistant professor in the Department of Art, will present "3-D Printing: Merging Antiquity & New Technology in Art Making" at the Bearded Bird in Norfolk's NEON district.