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K-State Today

December 6, 2017

Entomology department, College of Agriculture to host Undergraduate Research Symposium

Submitted by John Ruberson

All are invited to visit the second annual Entomology Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium. The mostly come-and-go event is 2-4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, in the Flint Hills Room of the K-State Student Union. Light refreshments will be available. 

Awards and recognition will begin about 3:50 p.m., and thanks to the support of the College of Agriculture, the top five students will each receive financial awards. Thirty-eight students will present posters of the work they conducted this semester working in entomology labs on campus and with USDA-Agricultural Research Service partners in Manhattan. The 38 students presenting in 2017 were mentored by 25 entomology faculty and Agricultural Research Service scientists. 

Student presenters are from various departments in the College of Agriculture, with some other students from the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Education.

The research symposium was initiated by Jeremy Marshall, an entomology faculty member, who observed that there are many undergraduate students at K-State who want to have a research experience, but have limited time in which to do so.

Marshall felt that insects provide a unique system whereby students can obtain a short-term but quality research experience in a variety of areas, and he launched his idea in fall 2016. In 2016, 19 students completed projects within a semester, and produced research posters. With the support of the College of Agriculture, a symposium was hosted for these 19 students to present their posters. Marshall also arranged for the students to have electronic versions of their posters deposited in K-REx. This allows the students to provide links to their posters in their job resumes so prospective employers can see in detail what the students did in their short-term research, rather than only reading a short description or title of a research project on a resume.