BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Students from a wide range of disciplines will present research at the 35th annual John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference on Saturday, April 13, at Illinois Wesleyan University.
Presentations will take place from 8:30 to 9:45 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Center for Natural Sciences (CNS) and from 9 a.m. to noon on the first floor of State Farm Hall. A reception and awards ceremony for the Annual Student Art Exhibition will also take place from 1-3 p.m. in the Merwin and Wakeley Galleries in the Joyce Eichhorn Ames School of Art and Design Building.
Established in 1990, the John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference provides students with the opportunity to showcase their individual research projects and creative endeavors to the public through posters, art or spoken presentations. With 96 students participating in the conference, this year’s research projects will represent nearly every academic discipline at Illinois Wesleyan, ranging from art and history to computer science and biology.
George C. and Ella Beach Lewis Endowed Professor of Biology Given Harper is chair of the Undergraduate Research Advisory Committee that organizes the conference. He said the event is an excellent chance for students to share research passions and artistic works with peers, faculty and family members.
“Conducting research or working on an artistic endeavor fulfills part of the IWU mission statement which says that ‘a liberal education at Illinois Wesleyan fosters creativity, critical thinking, effective communication, strength of character and a spirit of inquiry.’” said Harper.
A public lecture will be presented by keynote speaker J. Aaron Simmons at 10 a.m. in CNS 101 titled, “How Going Camping with Kierkegaard Can Help Us Live A Better Life.” According to a summary of his talk, Simmons will pull philosophy from deep thinkers and artists to encourage listeners to “rethink what it means to make choices, take risks, be alone and silent while cultivating friendships, and to find our calling by facing our vulnerability.” Simmons is a professor of philosophy at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina.
The research conference is named for explorer and geologist John Wesley Powell, a one-armed Civil War veteran and a founder of the National Geographic Society, who joined Illinois Wesleyan University’s faculty in 1865.
More information on the conference is available here.