News Releases

USM Celebrates Student Research During Two-Day Conference

April 21, 2004

Building on the success of the University of Southern Maine's Poster Days, USM is expanding opportunities for students to present their original scholarship at a conference, "Thinking Matters," to be held Thursday and Friday, April 22 and 23. Topics range from research on dogs used in search and rescue, to the development of graffiti as an art form, to household hazardous wastes, and mercury contamination of ground water in Maine.

In the past, students displayed posters of their research -- typically in the sciences -- showcasing many original projects undertaken by USM students and student-faculty teams. This year, there will be 77 poster displays illustrating student research, as well as 47 student oral presentations, the latter of which center around humanities-based research. More than 200 USM students will participte in the conference.

The conference begins with a reception and roundtable discussion, "The Character of Our Conversation," at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, April 22, in the Woodbury Campus Center on the Portland campus. The discussion will focus on the importance of meaningful conversation to the educational experience.

Oral presentations begin at 9 a.m. Friday morning, and continue through 5 p.m., concluding with the keynote address, "Ownership, Control, Accessibility, and Possession of Research (OCAP): How the Ethics and Aesthetics of OCAP Research Enhance Our Relationships with The Environment," from 7 to 8:30 p.m. The speaker, Alexandria Wilson, is a member of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation and is currently principal investigator and consultant in Aboriginal cultural awareness training.

Student poster presenters will be in attendance to discuss their research during two sessions on Friday, April 23, in the Sullivan Gym, Portland, taking place from 10:30 a.m.-noon, and again 2:30-3:30 p.m.

For a full schedule of events, visit: http://research.usm.maine.edu/thinkingmatters/ or contact Assistant Professor of History Adam Tuchinsky, ph. 780-4287; email: tuchinsk@usm.maine.edu.

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