Faculty research on display at annual poster exhibit
CSUEB employee Balvinder Kumar listens to Assistant Professor Johannes Wallman's Col Trio jazz presenation at the 2010 poster exhibit.
- May 10, 2011
Bringing together examples of CSUEB scholars’ work spanning subjects from advances in solar cell development to the role humor plays in communication between dating couples, the second annual Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity Poster Exhibit is slated for May 25 in the New University Union multipurpose room.
Following the success of the inaugural poster exhibit in 2010, organizers received proposals from interested participants representing the four colleges and 15 disciplines including chemistry and biochemistry, psychology, human development and women's studies and theatre and dance.
“We did a survey of (2010) attendees, and they loved it,” said Rhea Williamson, associate vice president for the Office of Research and Professional Development, a sponsor of the exhibit. “It was absolutely (a case of) people clamoring for more.”
As was done for the previous event, the 2011 poster exhibit has been scheduled to allow Cal State East Bay Educational Foundation board of trustees and university leaders to attend directly after their monthly meeting.
New to the 2011 program, scheduled from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., will be participants from the McNair Scholars program, which offers assistance and guidance for undergraduate students with graduate study aspirations. Of the 25 CSUEB faculty members displaying posters, nearly half will focus presentations on research featuring collaboration with student researchers.
Among posters to be displayed are: "Use of Humor During Conflict Negotiation in Dating Couples" by Assistant Professor Heike Winterheld of psychology; "Teaching Mental Health in California: Curriculum Content Analysis" by lecturer Sarah Taylor of social work; "Improved Efficiencies of Polymer Solar Cell by Alignment of Single-walled Carbon Nanotubes" by Assistant Professor Erik Helgren of physics; and "The Effect of Visual and Auditory Models on Golf Swing" by Mauro Murgia of kinesiology.
“The response that I’ve gotten is that it’s an incredibly wonderful event that promotes the faculty research that our hard working faculty are engaged in,” Williamson said. “It really highlights the need to continue such efforts and even expand on them.”
Jiannan Wang, senior assistant librarian, participated last year. Talking to university colleagues with whom she doesn’t usually come into professional contact counted as an event highlight for Wang, who said she enjoyed discussing research with faculty in biological sciences. She also learned about grant opportunities from a staff member of the then-Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.
“It was a very good experience,” Wang said. “As a faculty member, I wanted to participate to show a little bit about library research.”
Her poster featured information about “Understanding Science Faculty Information-seeking Behavior to Determine Collection Development Prioritizing.”
Through a post-event survey, other faculty members also gave the poster exhibit positive reviews.
“The work my faculty colleagues are doing is extraordinary,” wrote one instructor. “The level of scholarly activity is outstanding, and I am proud to be a part of this community.”
Participation also offers value for students, Williamson pointed out.
“The event benefits our students by providing them with the opportunity to have their research efforts acknowledged, displayed, highlighted and recognized,” she said. “It also provides them with the desire to continue with what they’re doing with their faculty mentors.
“What it does for students, in many ways, is open their eyes to future possibilities in academics.”