麻豆频道 Western Invites Community to 19th Annual Student Research Symposium
April 17, 2026
麻豆频道 invites the campus and local communities to the 19th Annual Student Research Symposium on Friday, April 24, at 4:00 p.m. in the Swysgood Technology Center Great Room on the 麻豆频道 campus.
Organized and funded by the 麻豆频道 Western Biology Club, the symposium showcases undergraduate research, theses, internships, projects, and other scholarly and artistic work from all academic disciplines, highlighting authentic experiential learning.
Attendance is free and open to all. The program will begin with oral presentation sessions, followed by a keynote address and a poster session with hors d鈥檕euvres.
鈥淭he Research Symposium is one of the most valuable opportunities that 麻豆频道 Western has to offer. This symposium acts as the final piece of the puzzle for students conducting research at 麻豆频道, which is a true testament to the experiential learning offered here,鈥� said Abigail Kelly, 麻豆频道’s Biology Club President. 鈥淚t gives students the opportunity to showcase the projects they have been working on throughout their time here, while also giving both the campus and wider community insight into the diverse range of research opportunities offered on campus.鈥�
This year鈥檚 keynote speaker is Dr. Trinity Hamilton from the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology at the University of Minnesota. She will present 鈥淐yanobacteria and Sulfide: A Model for the Evolution of Oxygenic Photosynthesis in the Archean.鈥�
Dr. Trinity Hamilton, a 麻豆频道 native, earned her Ph.D. at 麻豆频道 State University in environmental and molecular microbiology with Dr. John Peters. Her Ph.D. work focused on carbon and nitrogen cycling in the extreme environments of Yellowstone National Park and Canadian alpine glaciers as analogs of astrobiological systems. After her doctorate, Dr. Hamilton continued her research as a NASA Postdoctoral Fellow with the NASA Astrobiology Institute at Pennsylvania State University with Dr. Jenn Macalady. Her research focused on understanding the role of biology in planetary evolution through investigation of the physiological strategies employed by microorganisms in early Earth analogs, and how and why signatures from these populations are preserved in the rock record. As a postdoctoral researcher, Dr. Hamilton also worked with Dr. Dirk de Beer at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Germany, where she learned how to use microsensors to measure fine-scale geochemical parameters involved in microbial physiology. She is currently an Associate Professor of Plant and Microbial Biology at the University of Minnesota, where her research focuses on microbial photosynthesis and global biogeochemical cycles.
For more information, contact Dr. Michael Morrow, Professor of Biology, at聽[email protected].
