Simpson College will be hosting the 13th annual Research & Creativity Symposium on Thursday, April 20.

The Research & Creativity Symposium is a full-day event that celebrates the research that Simpson students have done in the past year. The event allows students to present their research on numerous topics in oral presentations with a poster session in the afternoon.

There will also be a special guest speaker, Chris Jones from the University of Iowa, who will give a keynote address, “This Land is Their Land.” 

Katherine Vance, one of the co-directors of undergraduate research, gave her thoughts on what students should walk away with after attending the event.

“Students can expect to walk away with an idea of the research opportunities available to them as Simpson students, and with a greater understanding of interesting and important topics,” Vance said. 

Chair of the Undergraduate Research & Creativity Symposium, Aswati Subramanian, shared similar thoughts on what she would like students to take away from the event.

“I hope students walk away inspired to participate in hands-on learning experiences. I hope they see the value in the one-on-one interaction that faculty members have with students while creating and implementing the projects they present,” Subramanian said. “I hope students walk away knowing they have a supportive and encouraging environment to foster their inquisitive minds.”

There are 113 student presenters this year, which is about 10% of the student body. There are also dozens of faculty and staff moderating presentations and giving feedback to student presenters. 

Subramanian gave insight as to her hopes for the event going forward, as this is her first year being part of this committee.

“My vision for the college is that over the years, we have a majority of our students participating in research and creative pursuits in some form or another,” Subramanian said.

Sophomore Cole Watts is excited to attend the event as an observer. 

“I really look forward to some of the presentations that will be happening and can’t wait to see what my peers have been researching,” Watts said. 

This event has had success in recent years, with 100-115 students typically presenting each year. 

“I have seen this as an all-campus event that is extremely well attended,” Subramanian said. “I certainly consider this a successful event. The excitement in the air is palpable.”

Vance explained what her favorite part about being the head of this event is.

“I love learning about the outstanding research that students are doing. The t-shirts are pretty great, too – every student presenter will receive a t-shirt designed by second-year graphic design major Avery Dickerson,” Vance said. 

The team for the committee consists of five faculty members that will be present on the day of the event.

The schedule for the event can be found here, with different presentations ranging from presentations to the poster session, taking place throughout the day.