Celebrating 12 Years of Student-Faculty Collaboration

For 12 years, every April on a Saturday, hundreds of Smith students step in front of an audience and present their research, developed in collaboration with faculty members.

This year’s event, on Saturday, April 20, will feature more than 400 students giving more than 250 presentations, assisted by more than 120 faculty members across all disciplines.

Students will present in a range of categories, including the sciences, literature, performing arts, sociology and language studies. The presentations represent senior theses, independent study and research.

The day begins at 8:30 a.m. with a science poster session in the Campus Center, followed by a wide range of presentations in Seelye Hall, beginning at 10:45 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 2:45 p.m.

Refreshments will accompany the poster session from 8 to 10:30 a.m. Also, a campus-wide luncheon, accompanied by the Smith College Jazz Ensemble, will be served in Scott Gymnasium, 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. (lunch will not be served in campus dining rooms).

And for the first time, a “Collaborations Recital,” at 4:15 p.m. in Sweeney Concert Hall, Sage, will feature vocal and instrumental chamber music performed by students and faculty, followed by a reception.

“Celebrating Collaborations” is free and open to the public. View the complete schedule.

For student participants in “Celebrating Collaborations,” the event offers an opportunity to hone an invaluable skill not easily obtained. For most, gaining comfort in giving presentations comes only from giving presentations. In the opportunity it affords, “Celebrating Collaborations” is a unique event within the undergraduate curriculum.

In its 12 years, “Celebrating Collaborations” has not only become a valued component of Smith’s annual academic culture, it has also served as a model for similar events at peer institutions.

Behind the student presentations is the cooperative guidance of faculty members. And while some of the presentation titles reflect highly technical subject matter, others are pertinent to modern social, health and political issues.

Consider these titles from the morning science poster session: “Rural Electrification in South Africa: Design Challenges and Considerations,” a presentation by Jennifer Holliday ’13; “Design of a Scalp Cooling Device to Reduce Hair Loss during Chemotherapy” by seniors Sofia Goodrich, Linda Son and Sarah Weber; “Greene Infrastructure for an Aging Storm Water System” by Salma Bargach ’14 and Natasha Krell ’16; and “The Brain Changes Associated with Fatigue” by seniors Bushra Anis and Gloria Kim.

Afternoon sessions range across disciplines with presentations on education, history, literature, archival and museum studies, global studies, philosophy, dance, economics and many other topics.