The University of Southern Mississippi's Undergraduate Research Symposium

Today, I had the pleasure of attending USM's UGS as both a project supervisor and project evaluator. I got to hear about undergraduate research from a variety of disciplines in both oral presentations and poster presentations, and I had time to talk with undergraduates about their interests and aspirations. I also, unexpectedly, got to reconnect with students from the diversity of fishes course I helped with last semester. This day was a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the value of undergraduate research and inquiry, even when the research outcome isn't perfect or expected. Our student, Yzabela, gave a stellar poster presentation on her work in a setting that is much less stressful than science conferences. She has plans to pursue graduate studies, and her participation in the UGS will surely impress potential faculty mentors.

Some of my favorite parts of today included: 1) seeing the beautiful Southern Miss campus, as the UGS is held at Southern Miss proper, which is an hour and fifteen minutes from the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, 2) a wonderful keynote address about how lived experiences along with empirical research support informed policy and decision making, and 3) hearing students talk so passionately about research ideas and devices they created with support from amazing faculty mentors. I think my top prize for the day, because I thought the execution was great and the presenter gave a live demonstration, was a 3D printed soft robotic grabber that allowed for gentle sample collection. The device had five fingers that gently curled around an item to pick it up without damage the exterior of the sample.

While I didn't take any pictures inside the symposium for privacy reasons, today's picture features the beautiful architecture of the building where the UGS was held. SMTTT - Southern Miss To The Top! Stay tuned for next week's blog, as we wrap up the semester.

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