Four ODU Graduate Students to Present Research at State Research Forum
Four graduate students at Old Dominion University have been chosen to present their research at the statewide 2009 Graduate Student Research Forum in Richmond on Tuesday, Feb. 10.
The ODU students will be among around 60 presenters from 13 Virginia universities. The forum, which is sponsored by the Virginia Council of Graduate Schools (VCGS), will be held from 4-6 p.m. at the Library of Virginia. Guests have been invited who have academic, business and political interests in the best graduate research being done in the state.
"Investing in graduate education is investing in Virginia," Gov. Timothy Kaine declared in a letter endorsing the forum. "Graduate students work closely with faculty to create new understandings and discoveries, which are applied to the social and economic challenges facing society."
Philip Langlais, ODU vice provost for graduate studies and research, said the projects being presented will contribute to economic, social and civic progress in Virginia.
ODU participants are:
Rebekah Fariss, a doctoral student in educational leadership, Darden College of Education.
Georges M. Arnaout, a doctoral student in engineering management, Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology.
Elizabeth F. Giles, doctoral student in nursing, College of Health Sciences.
Margaret Lemaster, master's student in dental hygiene, College of Health Sciences.
ODU's assistant vice president for graduate studies, Brenda Lewis, said the students who are presenting were nominated by their colleges and chosen by the Office of Graduate Studies. "Our decisions were based, among other things, on the quality of research and the value of that research to the commonwealth," Lewis explained.
Lewis said that about 70 percent of the people who earn graduate degrees at Virginia schools take jobs in Virginia, and that the forum is designed to show the benefits of in-state graduate education.
Topics of the research to be presented range from the characteristics of aerosols in the York River watershed to the development of advanced traffic information systems in the Washington metropolitan area. Much of the research aligns with the priorities of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), demonstrating the critical link between university research and the economic development of the Commonwealth and the well-being of its citizens.
More information about VCGS, and the research forum, may be found at www.vacgs.net.