Middletown, CT – Wesleyan University recently hosted the 30th annual Keck Symposium. The Keck Symposium is one of the key features that separates Keck projects from other types of undergraduate research experiences. Most other REU programs are confined to the summer, but Keck projects continue through the following academic year and culminate in the Symposium. Research groups reunite to synthesize their individual results and present their work to a broader scientific community. The Symposium is also a best practice and an essential part of the undergraduate research experience. By presenting their research, students transition from private to public discovery and contribute knowledge to the scientific discourse. They develop confidence in their abilities and advance their independence as scientists (Lopatto, 2009).
Wooster Geologists, Andrew Conaway (’17), Chloe Wallace (’17), and Meagen Pollock are happy passengers headed to the Keck Symposium.
The Keck Symposium format involves two sessions of oral presentations followed by poster presentations. With coffee and muffins in hand, the Keck Iceland group is ready for the morning session.
Each research group provides an overview of their projects. Students present their work in a brief 5 minutes. Andrew Conaway (’17) tells the audience about the history of land use around the Wisconsin lakes that he studied.
The oral sessions are followed by poster sessions, where the students can discuss their work in detail. Andrew Conaway (’17) talks about his research on magnetic susceptibility in lake cores.
Chloe Wallace (’17) discusses her research on volatile contents of pillow lavas from a subglacial ridge in southwest Iceland.
Team Iceland celebrates the end of our poster session with a final group photo. The Symposium also provides an opportunity for faculty to catch up and network. It’s an important professional development opportunity, particularly for early-career faculty.
Another important thing that happens at the Keck Symposium is the review of copy-edited short contributions. Each student writes an extended abstract of ~2500 words and 5 figures, which is compiled and published in a Symposium Volume. Team Iceland goes through their short contributions one last time at the lunch break.
It’s an intense weekend, but the smiles on our faces at the end of it all (despite the early morning flight) show that it’s worth the effort.