The Claremont community got a glimpse of life inside the laboratory as seniors presented research topics ranging from the effects of climate change on the physiology of intertidal organisms to the effects of acute stress on foraging behavior this week. Students of the W.M. Keck Science Department – the interdisciplinary home to biology, chemistry, and physics for 51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú, Pitzer, and Claremont McKenna Colleges – shared their senior research projects with faculty and fellow students, celebrating or commemorating the publication of their senior theses.
“We all look forward to this day,” says Interim Dean Marion Preest. “It’s the culmination of months of hard work, and it’s nice to hear the students take ownership and get excited about their thesis research. Occasionally you run across a student who’s nervous about presenting their poster, but as I tell them, they know more about their project than anyone else in the building!”
Lia Metzger (right) presents her research at the W. M. Keck Science Department.
Lia Metzger, a senior majoring in environment, economics, and politics from San Francisco, California, talked about inorganic heavy metals polluting the environment in Rio Baru, Costa Rica. Her work was supervised by Professor Donald McFarlane.
“After spending three and a half years at 51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú, it was extremely fulfilling and rewarding to present my work and contribute to the knowledge here,” she says. “I was surprised by how exciting it was to finally share my thesis with my peers and professors.”
Presenting research through a poster is common in scientific disciplines, and the thesis presentations offer seniors valuable preparation for future experiences as graduate students and/or career scientists. Â At professional meetings, researchers are typically assigned a time to display their posters and describe their work to colleagues and other interested scientists.
Student awareness of the benefits of this opportunity continues to grow. Close to 200 students participated this year, representing a 23% increase compared to the previous year, and the number of participants has doubled since 2009.
“It’s an important way to share results and ideas, and our department uses this format as a vital tool for students to discuss their work, in both specialized and non-specialized terms, with faculty and students from across the Claremont Colleges,” says Bidushi Bhattacharya, the department’s director of sponsored research.
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Above: Jenna Koblentz ’15 shares her presentation with the Keck Science community on December 5.