That’s a Wrap! The First In-Person Trinity College Undergraduate Research Conference Since COVID-19
by Jiwoo Jeon
On Saturday March 11th, the 9th annual Trinity College Undergraduate Research Conference took place. This was the first in-person TCURC since the 2020 Conference.
The Trinity College Undergraduate Research Conference is an annual conference hosted by Trinity College’s Academic Dons and Academic Peer Advisors in partnership with Trinity’s Margaret MacMillian Trinity One program. The conference’s interdisciplinary academic setting provides a unique and wonderful opportunity for Trinity College undergraduate students to present their research, academic projects, and original work.
The conference began at 9:30 A.M., after most presenters, participants, and general audience members arrived and picked up their name cards at the GIT (George Ignatieff Theatre) foyer front desk. Opening Remarks were made by Trinity’s Associate Registrar Jerome Chang and Dean of Arts and Vice Provost Professor Michael Ratcliffe. And with that, the conference began!
The conference agenda began with 10-minute concurrent research panels. For the first 10-minute session, I went to Breakout Room #3 for presentations on Food Pharmacy Programs, Pancreatic Cancer Drugs, and Antidepressants for Lasting Covid Symptoms. Each presenter came from a mix of independent and collaborative projects: Sara Ziadat’s Pancreatic Cancer Drugs project will be fulfilled in collaboration with the University Health Network, whereas Hongqian Wang’s Antidepressants project was independent research.
At 12:45 P.M., we were served a catered lunch box with a sandwich, cookie, and a tangerine—classic and simple. Following lunch break was a Research Poster Presentation session spread across the Buttery. This session was jam-packed with a diverse selection of enlightening research topics! Some fascinating posters I visited were Julia Shokeir’s research on the South Korean digital platform, Bubble; Riley Alvarez and John Lin’s research on exploring attention in French Immersion elementary students; and Roxanne Huang’s research examining the possible relationship between rejection to xenotransplantation and religion.
By 2:00 P.M., the conference was coming to an end as the final round of 3-minute Thesis presentations began. Many of the 3-minute Thesis presentations were based on first-year students’ projects for the Margaret MacMillian Trinity One program. I myself made a 3-minute Thesis Presentation titled “Credentials as Merit 2.0” based on my personal research interest on credentials. The unique trademark of the TCURC is that the eligibility to present is not limited to only research but is open to all academic projects and even original work. This is what enabled me to present my thesis, as my work is not affiliated with any research or academic project, but rather my own theory.
Overall, the first in-person TCURC in two years was a great success! And there is now great anticipation for next year’s TCURC. Associate registrar Jerome Chang remarked, “Maybe we will do a flash mob since it’s the 10th one!”
