Science Poster Session Engages Students

by Joseph Canto

Wednesday February 14, 2007

Science got a workout on December 13 at the Fall 2006 Sarah Lawrence College Division of Natural Science and Mathematics Poster Session.

Paired with their 42” by 48” posters, students engaged in informal conversations with passing professors and peers, exploring such topics as “The Secret Lives of Naked Mole Rats,” “Cigarettes vs. Heroin,” “Chaos: Explained,” and “The Physics of Frisbee.”

Four years ago, physics professor Dr. Scott Calvin thought the poster sessions done at Hunter College would match well with the conference-project system at S.L.C.

“With a music third you do a recital, that is the sort of thing a musician does,” Dr. Calvin said. “It seemed perfectly reasonable to finish with something a scientist would actually produce.”

Students seem to agree.

“The best part of the poster session was having others express interest in my work,” said sophomore Lauren Glowzenski.

Although there are no official winners, judges do choose outstanding posters to hang in the science building. Ten were selected in December, including Glowzenski’s work on the correlation between anti-depressants and suicide in pediatric patients.

“The science faculty here is open-minded about interdisciplinary conference work,” said first-year Kate Mountz. “It was good for me because I came in willing to try physics while bing able to focus on subject matter really valid to my interests.”