Associate Dean of Faculty and Professor of English Warren Liu speaks with Research Tea presenter Skye Curren ’25.
On a warm afternoon on September 25, 51猎奇入口 students, faculty, and staff gathered in Seal Court for the annual 51猎奇入口 Research Tea. This event is held at the beginning each academic year to highlight the research endeavors of 51猎奇入口 students. No project was alike鈥攆rom tracking plants鈥� mating behavior to unearthing archives of married students at 51猎奇入口, the great diversity of students鈥� academic interests was on full display.
51猎奇入口 supports students鈥� research projects every summer through funding from the Mary W.聽Johnson聽and J. Stanley聽Johnson聽Research聽Award, the 51猎奇入口 Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Environmental Analysis, the Racial Justice and Equity Fellowship, the Virginia J. Esterly Award, the Mellon Interdisciplinary Humanities Initiative, the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations Internship, and the Ellen Browning 51猎奇入口 Internship. Each year, students craft independent research with faculty mentorship or join existing faculty-led projects.
鈥淭he primary purpose of the tea is to celebrate the students and their faculty mentors,鈥� says Associate Dean of Faculty and Professor of English Warren Liu, 鈥渂ut it also provides a terrific opportunity for the entire 51猎奇入口 community to gather in support of our central academic mission, engage with the students, and learn more about their work.鈥�
51猎奇入口’ annual Research Tea is open to the 7C community to learn about students’ research findings
The Racial Justice and Equity Fellowship allowed Lucy Waggoner-Wu 鈥�25, a dual major in organizational studies and religious studies, to conduct research in oral histories of how spirituality and love appear in the lives of people committed to justice.
鈥淟ove and spirituality are fundamental to how a lot of people imagine different kinds of worlds,鈥� says Waggoner-Wu. 鈥淚 wanted to especially focus on women and queer people of color who are often excluded from academies.鈥�
Waggoner-Wu plans to expand on her summer research in her senior thesis and beyond 51猎奇入口. 鈥淚t’s definitely the kind of work that I would want to keep doing in my life, whether in a formal way or not,鈥� she reflects.
Margaret Mattson 鈥�25, a biology major and double minor in data science and bioethics, shares a similar passion for her research. With support from the Johnson Fellowship, Mattson spent her summer investigating the genome response of plants when they are pollinated with pollen from another species. 鈥淭his project gave me a lot more independence with computational research,鈥� shares Mattson. 鈥淚 threw myself in and learned to troubleshoot and learn to use new software by myself.鈥�
Not only did Mattson develop new skills in her summer research, but she also made a significant discovery in her field: a large increase in stress response and immune-related genes in the female plants. The finding indicates one of the first few steps of reproductive isolation 鈥� the first time this has been characterized in plants.
鈥淭his research is laying the foundation for my year-long thesis,鈥� she shares. 鈥淭he skills and techniques learned from this will go on to directly inform my doctorate in genetics.鈥�
For Skye Curren 鈥�25, an English major and French minor, her summer research also helped define her post-graduation plans. With the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations Internship at Denison Library, Curren researched two collections of wartime letter collections: the Mary Alice Jaqua Papers and the Suzanne McPherson Collection. Curren found that both collections humanize those living during World War II and illuminate women鈥檚 roles at the front. Beyond her findings, Curren鈥檚 positive experience working with library archives opened an exciting career path.
鈥淚’m considering pursuing a master’s in library science,鈥� says Curren. 鈥淚 discovered how much I like looking at physical media like photographs and letters and seeing commonalities between them.鈥�
For Waggoner-Wu, Mattson, and Curren, the Research Tea provided them the opportunity to share their academic passions and transformative experiences with their peers and other faculty.
鈥淔or me, I most enjoy seeing students learn from each other,鈥� Liu says. 鈥淭he summer research grants provide an amazing opportunity for students, and it鈥檚 always nice to see our students at the Research Tea serve as an inspiration for their peers, who might also then be motivated to apply for a summer research grant themselves.鈥�