DEADLINE FOR RESEARCH EXPO POSTERS IS FEB. 18
Old Dominion University and other institutions in southeastern Virginia will showcase achievements of faculty and students at Research Expo 2008, "Communities of Research: Discovery, Innovation and Entrepreneurship," on April 9 at the Ted Constant Convocation Center.
This is the fifth Research Expo. ODU launched the daylong event in 2004. Norfolk State University has participated since 2005, and Eastern Virginia Medical School joined a year later. Other institutions affiliated with the Virginia Tidewater Consortium for Higher Education participated in 2007 and will again this year. Consortium members include the College of William and Mary, Christopher Newport University, Hampton University and the Joint Forces Staff College.
About 1,500 people attended last year's Expo and even more are expected this year, said Kaethe Ferguson, director of research development in ODU's Office of Research and the chair of the Expo steering committee for the last three years. "We invite alumni and friends of our participating institutions to attend, as well as anyone else in our communities who would like to know more about the best work of our faculties and students."
At least 400 posters, exhibits and demonstrations in fields ranging from nuclear physics to fine arts will make up the basic program. Musical performances and an art show will be included in the event, as well as demonstrations of research accomplishments in areas such as biofuel production and medical modeling and simulation. In addition, panel discussions held throughout the day will explore topics such as research ethics and global warming.
Mohammad Karim, ODU's vice president for research, said, "This forum promotes collaborations between researchers from various disciplines and different schools, and it allows people from business, industry and government to begin dialogues with us about cooperative ventures. Our goal is to find applications for our academic research that will be valuable to our region and state."
Larry Mattix, associate dean for sciences and technology at Norfolk State, William Wasilenko, associate dean for research at EVMS, and Lawrence Dotolo, president of the Tidewater Consortium, are also key members of the event's steering committee.
The ODU Office of Research issued a call for posters with a Feb. 18 deadline for registration. Posters must present recent research and be no larger than 4x8 feet; additional rules and information about poster registration can be found by visiting www.odu.edu/research and clicking on the link to 2008 Research Expo.
Karim said faculty, graduate students and undergraduate students are invited to submit registrations for poster presentations.
The event will begin at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 9. Panel discussions, featuring experts from the participating institutions and from outside industries and agencies, will be, "Fostering an Ethical Research Environment" (9-10:30 a.m.); "Global Climate Change" (11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.), and "Democracy and Research Worldwide" (1-2:30 p.m.).