5th Annual X-SIG Poster Presentation
Fontaine McFeaters (Photo courtesy of Gettysburg College)
By Aphra Murray, MS&T Editor
In the spring, over 50 STEM students were awarded fellowships to conduct their research in a chosen department under the supervision of a faculty member. The research ranged from the Chemistry department to the Computer Science department, with many of the students attending conferences throughout the summer to listen to academics in their field present research.
On the October 27, over Parents Weekend, from 2:00-4:00 p.m. the Science Center lobby was filled with over 50 posters detailing the research that had been conducted, summarizing the results and indicating future projects for the upcoming academic year. This was the 5th annual X-SIG poster presentation, which started with Dr. S. Frey and Dr. K. Andresen.
The poster session allowed some students to get their first taste of presenting their own work, allowing them to better their science communication. Other students, who had been past participants of the X-SIG program, said that they loved the opportunity to read over their peers’ work. One student explained that “it can be isolating only working on your own research, so it’s a nice reminder that my friends are doing some incredible work of their own.”
Parents visiting also got a chance to see their children present their work. One father explained that he had “little understanding of the research his daughter does” but was very proud of the work she was doing.
The research had the work of several senior research spotlights that have been featured in the Gettysburgian. Senior Madison Strine presented on her work on phage biology.
Overall, the session was a success, with people filing in and out for well over the allotted two hours. Moving on, the students will now be looking to balance academic work with their research over the course of this semester and the next. Current juniors and sophomores will also be able to apply again to the X-SIG program when applications come out later in the semester.
