Science Research Day Yields Good Results

Last week's nineteenth and largest ever annual Science Research Day produced quite a buzz on campus.

The hum of scientific cross-pollination was almost deafening as excited young scientists presented their work and compared notes at the May 1 event. More than one hundred posters created by local high school students and by Brooklyn College undergraduate and graduate students were exhibited in the Brooklyn College Student Center, representing fruitful teamwork between students and faculty mentors.

Science Research Day 2009 saw a more than 20% increase in the number of creative, sophisticated posters covered everything from nest patterns for monk parakeets to the therapeutic potential of garlic extract, representing topics in the fields of biology, chemistry, engineering, environmental science, geology, health and nutrition, physical education, and psychology.

At the awards lunch that followed the morning poster session, high school students had the opportunity mix with students from other high schools as well as Brooklyn College faculty and graduate and undergraduate students. Twelve high schools participated in the day, including Brooklyn Tech High School, Midwood High School, and Magen Davis Yeshivah, It Takes a Village Academy, STAR High School, and Sheepshead Bay High School.

Dean of Research and Graduate Studies Louise Hainline, announced the awards, beginning with a few words about the good news from Washington, D.C. on new and renewed science research and teaching opportunities.

"I know," said Dean Hainline to cheers and applause, "that students from Brooklyn and Brooklyn College are going to be a part of this." 

As Dean Hainline proclaimed the winners, excitement grew. The posters for each discipline were judged by a panel composed of Brooklyn College faculty members, post doctorate fellows, and graduate and undergraduate students actively engaged in research in the discipline.

"The posters displayed at Science Research Day highlight the great work being done by the some of our country's next generation of scientists and engineers, in many cases by students working under the supervision of Brooklyn College faculty members," said Dean Hainline, who noted that Brooklyn College graduate fellows work at five Brooklyn high schools through the National Science Foundation NSF GK-12 (grades kindergarten through twelfth) program.

"It is very exciting for students to have the chance to explain their projects to people who can ask them critical questions and give suggestions about improving or extending their research," says Hainline. "Students benefit both intellectually and socially from the feedback they receive. It's a great day, a high point of the year for many of our students."

Professor of Chemistry Lesley Davenport, who is pursuing her biochemical and biophysical research at Brooklyn College while on sabbatical this year, was delighted to return and serve as one of the fifty judge panel. "It is really wonderful to see the students' enthusiasm at this exciting event," she said.

Davenport’s partner in research, Brian Williams, associate professor of chemistry at Bucknell University, commented on the general utility of the day to students, in particular to the undergraduate seated next to him. "It's good practice in skills that you will need," said Williams to the student. "One day, you’ll have to get up and talk to people about what you’re doing, no matter what you end up pursuing."

The long list of people thanked for their work on the day began with Florence Kempner, the coordinator of the Brooklyn College Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) program, who arranged all the logistics for the event. Science Research Day was primarily supported by the Office of Research and Graduate Studies as well as the National Institutes of Health programs sponsored by the Brooklyn College Center for Achievement in Science Education (CASE), which presently include MARC, the Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE), Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP), and Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP). The Office of Student Affairs and Barnes and Noble also contributed to the day.