Title: Undergraduate Research Center Stage at Georgetown March 28-April 13

Georgetown’s commitment to undergraduate research is stronger than ever over the next two weeks as it hosts a series of four student-run conferences and symposiums featuring top faculty and student researchers and promotes the concept of mentorship.

“Undertaking a research project demonstrates passion, curiosity, problem-solving skills, strong writing and analytical skills and other qualities that employers in every field are looking for,” says Chloe Krawczyk (SFS’15), co-chair of The Walsh Exchange conference that begins today and runs through March 30.

The Walsh Exchange conference – sponsored by the School of Foreign Service’s dean’s office,the Mortara Center for International Studies,the student-run Lecture Fund,The Corp andGeorgetown University Student Association – is dedicated to the study of international relations.

Policies and People

The SFS conference will focus on “Ideologies, Policies and People: Shifting Dynamics in Contemporary International Affairs” and feature Robert Beck, author of International law and the Use of Force: Beyond the U.N. Charter Paradigm, as well as a panel of Georgetown professors.

Krawczyk (SFS’15), a science, technology and international affairs major, has conducted research on China’s energy developments, U.S.-China collaboration over energy and other sociopolitical issues in China. She spent last summer in Qingdao, China, as a Critical Language Scholar and the fall in Beijing researching China’s natural gas procurement as a Boren Scholar.

“Our conference is unique in that it allows panelists to showcase their research, but also creates a comfortable environment for people who may not know much about the subject to ask questions and talk to the presenters and moderators,” Krawczyk explains.

Interdisciplinary and Diverse

The Undergraduate Research Symposium taking place April 4-5 is an interdisciplinary conference that brings students, faculty and university leaders together to integrate the diverse research being carried out across campus.

Slate contributor Arthur Allen, who wrote Vaccine: the Controversial Story of Medicine’s Greatest Lifesaver, will serve as the keynote speaker.

“Georgetown has a large number of faculty mentoring and collaborating with undergraduates in research, one-on-one and in teams,” says Janet Mann, vice provost for research andprofessor of biology and psychology. “Research is one of the most vital and formative learning experiences a student can have, one that they will never forget.”

Health and Science

Jan LaRocque, assistant professor of human science, serves as a faculty advisor for the School of Nursing & Health Studies (NHS) Undergraduate Research Conference, which will take place April 7-9.

The NHS conference highlights the health- and science-related research efforts of undergraduate students from Georgetown and other universities in the metro Washington, D.C. area. Dr. Eric Green, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, will be the keynote speaker.

“Faculty are provided the opportunity to effectively train the next generation of scholars, and students benefit from learning about the reality of the research process,” LaRocque says. “Knowing the foundations of how to ask a question, test this question, and interpret the results is integral to all thought processes.”

The last research event, the 13th Carroll Round Economics Conference, will take place April 10-13 and provide a forum for research and discussion on international economics among the world’s top undergraduates.

“We are proud to showcase the outstanding efforts of our faculty and students,” Mann says, “by promoting these weeks of undergraduate research conferences.”