What I did on my summer vacation

Photos by Kevin Lowder

More than 150 undergraduates participated in a poster session of the Undergraduate Research Symposium Oct. 22 at Olin Library that featured summer research projects. Above, Simeng Zhu (second from left), a sophomore physics major in Arts & Sciences, and Thomas Morrell (center, in tie), a junior physics and math major in Arts & Sciences, explain their findings on the athlete’s heart to Morrell’s parents, sister and grandmother. The symposium was held during Parent & Family Weekend and gave students an opportunity to share their work with family members and the university community. In addition to the poster session, the symposium featured remarks by Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton and Joy Kiefer, PhD, director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, presentations by a number of student researchers, and a keynote address by Itai Sened, PhD, director of the Center for New Institutional Social Sciences (CNISS) and professor of political science in Arts & Sciences. Sened (below right), was named Undergraduate Research Mentor of the Year. He chats with his nominator Daniel Guenther, a junior in Arts & Sciences, during the Mentor Recognition Reception. Sened was one of 13 mentors nominated by student researchers.