Southern Miss Conference Highlights Student Research

[Newsguy]

Hattiesburg – Some of the brightest young scientific minds from eight states and one foreign country will share their scientific research with other students and faculty in the Fourth Annual INSPIRE Conference at the University of Southern Mississippi this Friday and Saturday, Sept. 22-23.The INSPIRE Conference -- Interstate Network of Science Programs Integrating Research and Education – will focus on the polymer, materials and biomedical research of both undergraduate and high school students who will compete for cash awards in oral and poster presentations. A panel of six professors from Southern Miss, St. Norbert College and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point will judge the research presentations. The INSPIRE conference allows students to meet research peers and compare research results, said Dr. Lon J. Mathias, professor in the School of Polymers and High Performance Materials and a conference director. “This conference offers students the opportunity to share their research with peers in a unique learning environment.”Approximately 80 students and faculty advisers are scheduled to participate in the conference that also includes building tours, a career fair, professional development sessions and social activities to foster networking. Important, but non-scientific components of the conference, said Mathias, are the professional development sessions. How to present yourself in front of an audience is something we don’t often think about in science. But training in speaking and presentation skills will give them an edge in the classroom and in job interviews as they advance through their academic careers,” he said. In addition to enhancing Southern Miss’ reputation as a leader in biological and polymer science research, the conference is a way to recruit top science students into programs in the university’s College of Science and Technology. Among the high school participants are students from Oak Grove High School, Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science and Jericho High School (New York). Undergraduate participants are from Mississippi, Puerto Rico, New York, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The INSPIRE Conference is presented by the Mathias Research Group in the School of Polymers and High Performance Materials, and supported by the Mississippi Functional Genomics Network in the College of Science and Technology at Southern Miss.

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