Second Annual University Research Day

By Maria Del Nido

The second annual Research Day was held on Thursday, April 20. The event brought together Catholic University’s academic community to highlight recent research accomplishments of University students and faculty.

Sponsored by the Office of the Provost, the event showcased 164 poster presentations, 73 oral presentations, and two keynote speakers. The oral and poster presentations were presented by undergraduate and graduate students and faculty. One room featured research bodies associated with the University and groups including the Catholic University Law Review and Inventio, the undergraduate research journal.

Classes before 3:30 pm were cancelled for Research Day, giving the students the opportunity to attend planned events and presentations.

“Research Day this year was even better than last year. It was more structured and I could enjoy more presentations”, said Andrea Sanchez, a sophomore majoring in Media Studies.

Research Day hosted events across the Catholic University of America campus. Poster presentations were displayed in the Great Room in the Edward J. Pryzbyla University Center. Oral presentations were delivered in various campus buildings. For lunch, students and faculty members enjoyed several different food trucks. The food truck selection included Dangerously Delicious Pies, Swizzler, Captain Chicken and Waffles, Dirty South Deli, Fava Pot, and Captain Cookie and the Milkman. There were also music performances throughout the day.

During his welcome address, John Garvey, President of Catholic University, said “the scholarly work carried out at Catholic University is remarkably diverse.We believe that human beings are created to know the truth about the world, ourselves, and God.”

According to the Research Day office website, “Research Day, now an annual event, brings students and faculty out of their classrooms and labs to share their work and learn about the breadth of scholarly endeavors taking place beyond their own areas of study.”

Overall, students responded positively to the various Research Day events and presentations.

“It creates a community amongst all the students because a lot of people are confined to their school of study,” said junior biochemistry major Clare Kenny. “This makes people come out of their subject and learn about other academic subjects.”

According to Josh Johnson, a Engineering major, “I like research day partially because there are no classes.”

To conclude the day’s event, an award ceremony for the students and faculty members who participated in Research Day was be held in Heritage Hall in Father O’Connell.