EMU Today

YPSILANTI – The 38th annual Undergraduate Symposium, the highlight of the academic year at Eastern Michigan University, will be held on Friday, March 23 in the EMU Student Center.

The Symposium features the exceptional academic work of EMU undergraduate students, showcasing their research and creative projects from a wide variety of disciplines.

The event features oral presentations, exposition of posters, and the Crossing Lines Design Expo. This year’s Symposium features 205 faculty members serving as mentors to 402 unique student participants. All EMU colleges are represented at this annual highlight of undergraduate research and academic excellence.

A highlight of projects includes:

• Amanda Wasunyk, a written communication major, will review the impact of “fake news” in the digital era.

• Nathaniel Pyle, a secondary education major, examines recruitment and retention in the career field of public education.

• Reem Yassine, a biology major, will discuss how using worms aided in the exploration of the impact tumors have on healthy tissue in cancer patients.

• Nadia Ansari, a sociology major, will review an analysis of self-determination and emotional well being of students and teachers at EMU after the negative socio-political climate of 2016 and 2017.

• Anthony Terry, a psychology major, will highlight the barriers veterans experience in their paths to academic success at the college level.

• Faith Williams, a women’s and gender studies major, will present a review of how using Hip-Hop Feminism can aid in the reshaping of images of Black women in today’s media.

• Jordan Oliva, an art and design major, will display his Experimental Bent Wood Chair – a furniture piece created from bent wood, using various bending techniques, which helped to determine how materials could be used in unexpected yet functional ways.

Oral and poster presentations begin at 9 a.m. and run through 4:15 p.m., with a short break from noon to 1:15 p.m. for a private luncheon. The Crossing Lines Design Expo, which displays projects that are more visual in nature, is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The keynote speaker at the Symposium luncheon will be EMU assistant professor of geography and geology Christopher Gellasch. Gellasch graduated from EMU in 1992 with a BS degree in geology, earning double honors, and was commissioned as an Army officer through EMU ROTC.

During his career at EMU, Gellasch presented at the Undergraduate Symposium three times. His 23-year Army career was spent as an Army environmental science and engineering officer. He retired from the Army in 2017 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and returned to EMU to continue to help and develop students through mentoring and research.

For more information about the Undergraduate Symposium please visit the symposium website. The Student Center is located at 900 Oakwood, Ypsilanti, 48197. The event is free and open to the public.

About Eastern Michigan University

Founded in 1849, Eastern is the second oldest university in Michigan. It currently serves 20,000 students pursuing undergraduate, graduate, specialist, doctoral and certificate degrees in the arts, sciences and professions. In all, more than 300 majors, minors and concentrations are delivered through the University's Colleges of Arts and Sciences; Business; Education; Health and Human Services; Technology, and its graduate school. EMU is regularly recognized by national publications for its excellence, diversity, and commitment to applied education. For more information about Eastern Michigan University, visit the University's website.

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