Staff Senate Communication Symposium
Nicholas Truncale, a faculty member of the Department of Physics and Electrical Engineering, presents his work.The Staff Senate and the Office of Human Resources presented "Student-Faculty Research in the Sciences" to staff and faculty during Tuesday's Communication Symposium.
George Gomez, Ph.D., a faculty member in the Biology Department, Nicholas Truncale, a faculty member of the Department of Physics and Electrical Engineering, and Stefano Olsen '20 presented research and discussed collaborations among faculty and students in their disciplines.
Dr. Gomez emphasized the power of liberal arts and the importance of teaching students to think about content, rather than just produce it.
"My goal is not to cover the subject material, but to get them to uncover it," he said.
He talked about the success of his students, including 21 students who turned their course projects into research. "At our institution, we can take advantage of the small class sizes and limited resources by starting student research experiences in the classroom," he said.
Likewise, Truncale talked about how he teaches students "something fundamental that they can apply
He gave an overview of several projects (and patents) on which he collaborated with students and their research on everything from solar panels to rocket science.
Olsen, a sophomore, presented his research on how psychophysiological stress may accelerate aging and possibly lead to neurodegenerative diseases.
"I look forward to continuing to work on this research," he said. "I have a lot of fun with it."
