More than 100 Occidental students spent 10 weeks on campus this summer, participating in funded, full-time research alongside faculty mentors through the annual Summer Research Program (SRP).
From tracking bumblebee species regeneration in areas ravaged by Southern California fires to analyzing educational integration strategies for immigrants and the Native American environmental ethos, young 鶹Ƶresearchers have been busy this summer.
On July 31, students presented the fruits of their scholarly labor at the annual Summer Research Conference, which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year. Students representing 24 different majors have been working closely with 64 faculty mentors this summer on focused research of their choosing, both on campus and in Los Angeles.
“This conference is a wonderful opportunity for our students to show the public what they've accomplished,” says Janet Morris, director of the URC. “We believe that disseminating results is part of the research, and it's a terrific first opportunity for students to present their work in familiar, friendly circumstances.”
At the daylong conference, students presented their research as 20-minute talks and poster presentations on topics including “Biomass and Influencing Factors for Six Macroinvertebrates of the Southern California Rocky Reefs,” “Street Art, Gentrification and the Construction of Authenticity in Urban Spaces,” “Bracketing Extension of the Pioneer Metamorphic Core Complex” and “Energy spectra of turbulent Rayleigh-Benard convection.”
In addition to the 111 SRP participants, 10 students representing the Richter Research Abroad program and the Urban & Environmental Policy Department’s Affordable Housing program also presented research. (Article continues below)
