On Saturday, May 3rd 2014, the Department of Biology of the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez celebrated their 4th Undergraduate Symposium. The symposium counted with record breaking participation and a brilliant new addition, an art exhibition.
Dr. David Louge is the head of the organizing committee that make the symposium possible. He headed to the audience at about 8:30 a.m. at the Biology’s building auditorium. After a warm and familiar welcome, we received Dr. Lisa Geig, who came all the way from Canada to attend the symposium, invited by Dr. Louge. She shared her scientific research about the role of microorganisms in the degradation of oil (petroleum). It was her first time in Puerto Rico and she addressed to be “Impressed that there was an undergraduate student conference. What a great idea!”
There were six research categories: genetics, medicine, ecology, biochemistry, microbiology and evolution, and behavior. At registration, everybody was given a detailed schedule of the conferences and their locations as well as the name of the speakers so that one could manage to get into whatever they found interesting. Every student had a total time of fifteen minutes to address their presentation. They were evaluated by a diverse panel of judges composed of graduate students and faculty members. Graduate students also served as moderators for the event. A total of 73 undergraduate students presented their investigations.
Adriana P. Gay was the first presenter on the genetics category. As hard as it was to break the ice, she addressed to the public with confidence and eloquence, explaining how her research of the abundance of Crohn’s disease related gene in Puerto Rico. “The idea for this investigation came because a family member of mine suffers from Chron’s disease, and I seized Dr. Martinez-Cruzado research opportunity to develop my project.”
The main attraction to this year’s symposium was without a doubt, the Art Exhibition. This new category allowed students from all concentrations to expose their art, whether it was photography, painting, or 3-D sculptures. The originality in the pieces was immense, and they all portrayed how art and science can fusion to create an unusual, yet delightful union. Margarette Bayrón, a senior at the Microbiology program at UPRM, as well as researcher and future graduate student, traded the microscope for the needles and yarn. She created the beautiful winning piece of the 3D category, a sculpture named “Moving Sands”; she portrayed an ocean surrounded by colorful fish, as well as foraminifera, the organisms she studies and the main attraction of the piece.
At 5:30 p.m., the audience headed back to the auditorium were students were awarded as best in their respective categories. The winners received a participation certificate, as well as the last book of Dr. Juan A. Rivero, about the puertorricans native flora. For the grand finale, all the participants posed in front of the Biology building for a group photo.
Congratulations to all the students that participated, as well as the organization committee for an excellent symposium filled of innovations that make learning about science interesting and relevant.
Photos taken by Martín Rosas