The sounds of students excitedly explaining their research projects filled the PUB’s NCR Wednesday, as the annual Student Research and Creative Works Symposium made a successful comeback after a pandemic hiatus.
Billed as one of one of Eastern’s largest campus-wide academic events, the symposium is a chance to celebrate student achievement. Participants present their research or creative work—via oral/poster presentations, interactive exhibits, or artistic displays—in a formal, professional setting.
Student projects touched on a broad range of topics, from the social sciences, philosophy and English to biology and engineering.
Autumn Holley, a graduate student studying biology, couldn’t wait to educate visitors about her unique amphibian research. “I want to protect frogs from a fungus that’s killing them, with bacteria that kill the fungus,” says Holley. To do this, she’s expanding on existing research by giving frogs a “bacteria bath” with probiotics that she hopes will be effective in countering fungal infection.
Holley hopes the symposium is just the first step in a career dedicated to protecting this species.
“Everyone likes frogs when they’re a kid, and I just never grew out of it,” says Holley. “I think if you told my six-year-old self that I would get to work with frogs — and ask questions for a living — I would have been so psyched.”
Overall, there were 190 students like Holley who participated in this year’s symposium with the help of 63 faculty mentors.
