Thursday, April 1, 2010
More than 100 graduate students presented the findings of their research projects Wednesday for a chance to win cash prizes.
William Gilbert, a graduate student from Topeka, helps Woan Jing Teh set up her poster during the 2010 Graduate Research Competition Wednesday at the Kansas Union ballroom. Gilbert and Teh are both involved in the chemical and petroleum engineering graduate program.
A group of faculty members judged the presentations, which were set up on poster boards or given through PowerPoint talks. Students presented on topics ranging from gasoline production with algae to how Victorian women used porn to learn about sex.
The projects were split into the fields of science and engineering, social science and education and the humanities and fine arts. Each field will award a $500 first prize, a $200 second prize and two $150 third prizes to students at an award ceremony on April 27.
“We want to showcase the fact that our graduate students are engaged in research and that their research is really important to our institution,” said Sara Rosen, dean of graduate studies. “This is the next generation of researchers that will be out there.”
She said that it was not only an opportunity for students to practice presenting their work to the public but that it was also a chance to learn about the work others are doing.
Mathew Frank, a medical chemistry graduate student, said he enjoyed the input he got from audience members from other fields. He presented his work on using Salvia divinorum, a hallucinogenic compound that is often used recreationally but is outlawed in Kansas, as a possible treatment for drug addiction.
“A biochemist can come here and talk to me about it, or a psychologist can bring his knowledge to the table,” he said. “These can lead to collaborations with other labs, so you never know what to expect, you just come to these things to speak and learn.”
Griffin Roberts, a chemical engineering graduate student, presented his plans to create a new non-biodiesel form of gasoline from algae oil. He said he planned to buy his own $13,000 reactor to make the new gasoline while getting his doctorate in the next few years.
Although Roberts said the cash prize would be a big help to his research, he said the experience of presenting his work was more beneficial.
“It’s just really good to talk with people about things and have them understand what you’re doing and why you’re doing it,” he said. “You can do the greatest work ever, but if you can’t explain it to someone, it’s pretty useless.”
— Edited by Allyson Shaw
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