The Virgin Islands public is invited to the University of the Virgin Islands’ Tenth Annual Spring Research Symposium, set for 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 24. The symposium will take place in the Great Hall in the North West Wing of the Albert A. Sheen Campus on St. Croix. Admission is free for the event which is part of the university’s ongoing Golden Jubilee celebration.
Approximately 30 undergraduate and graduate students will present their innovative scientific research. Research areas include biology, environment, chemistry, mathematics, and physical and computer sciences.
Most of their research was conducted while participating in programs funded by the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health. These programs include the Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC), the Minority Biomedical Research Support Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (MBRS RISE), and the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU UP) programs – the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE), the Sophomore Summer Research Institute (SSRI), and the HBCU UP Scholars program.
The students who will be presenting include two who won prizes at a large national undergraduate research meeting in November. The Annual Biomedical Research Symposium for Minority Students in St. Louis attracted more than 1,000 students presenting from all over the United States. Chinaemere Igwebuike, a biology major, won for best oral presentation in genetics for research that he conducted over the summer at Boston University Medical School. Igwebuike is a native of St. Croix now studying on the St. Thomas campus. Stephan Bitterwolf won the best poster presentation in computational sciences at the same meeting. He is a St. Thomas marine biology major who won for research conducted with Dr. Marilyn Brandt at UVI and a collaborating professor at the University of Hawaii.
The annual Spring Research Symposium is a part of UVI’s continuing effort to promote excellence in learning by fostering student research and improving student communication skills in science and mathematics. Organizers of the event have extended a special invitation to all interested junior and senior high school students and teachers. UVI students, alumni, administrators, faculty, trustees and other interested persons are also encouraged to attend. Those in attendance will have the opportunity to interact with the student presenters and discuss the diverse topics represented in the student projects.
The event is organized by the Emerging Caribbean Scientists Programs office in UVI’s College of Science and Mathematics. For more information, contact the UVI Emerging Caribbean Scientists Programs at 693-1397.
