It started with an annual tradition known as “poster days,” where science students would gather to share visual presentations of the year’s major projects.
This piqued the interest of some in the history department, who noticed an exchange of work and ideas that is sometimes rare at USM. They thought it might be a good idea to expand the event to encompass the larger humanities and social sciences, and maybe feature a few oral presentations and panel discussions…
The result was Thinking Matters, which last week sprawled out across the Portland campus for its fourth straight year. Running April 17-18, the symposium enjoyed strong university support – from the glowing welcome by interim President Joe Wood that graces the program guide to permission for all university staff to leave their posts if they wished to attend.
By all indications, it was still a grassroots-style collaboration between students and faculty.
That’s how the symposium started, and how it maintains quality control – there is no jury or competition, only a strong mentor-student relationship guiding the development of each presentation.
“I think there are a lot of students here who are really engaged in their education, and sometimes they don’t realize they’re not alone in that,” says Adam Tuchinsky, professor of history and one of the founders of the symposium.
“So we try to bring all of the exceptional and creative work that gets done around campus into one place, so we can see just how much is getting done here.”
If there is a common thread in projects this time around, it is because mentors tried to encourage more service learning and civic engagement in the projects, which means that students applied themselves to some sort of outreach, community-oriented effort.
Undergrads in the recreation and leisure program, for instance, got elementary school students involved in fund-raising to build playgrounds for impoverished children in Haiti.
But despite this year’s focus on civic engagement, the symposium is always fairly open-ended. Some presentations are of classroom projects that evolved into extra-credit. Others, especially in the oral portion, are closer to hands-on training for those considering a future in academia.
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Open-source, standards-based software system for internet accessible geospatial data warehouse
Computer Science graduate student Matthew Blanchette and a team of several other computer science graduates are actively developing a system that will eventually be implemented by the Maine Geo-Library Board. It offers a way to manage a database of geospatial information, to which anyone across the state can contribute and access. A key goal of their work is seeing that this kind of data isn’t locked behind exclusive, proprietary software – that’s why they’re writing it themselves, and adhering to open standards.
The cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of gold Nanoparticles in human lung cells
Student Qin Qin presents one of the many Thinking Matters projects to come out of USM’s Wise Laboratory. As a continuation of some of the lab’s work with NASA, Qin and her team took a hard look at the possible health effects of nanoparticles, which have more recently started seeing widespread industrial use. You can breath easy, as their research indicates that gold nanoparticles do not to cause cytotoxicity, chromosome damage or “aneuploidy.”
Global Educators ’08
In honor of USM’s 10th straight year of hosting a Model United Nations conference, this team of political science undergraduates traveled to local high schools, teaching students how to be model delegates themselves. Together, the group has probably mentored more than 100 students at a variety of schools across Maine, some of whom will show off their skills at the Model UN conference this May.
Lobster CyberCatch: an online game for elementary school students
Lookout, Oregon Trail. Ian Robbins and friends have developed a computer game to educate elementary school students in the finer points of collecting and interpreting scientific data. Players must manage a commercial lobster fishery, observing trends and making decisions based on changing environmental conditions. A key aspect is the ability for teachers to log on from another computer, either to help out or simply to monitor a student’s progress.