Utah State Research Highlighted at 2024 Research Week

Next week, April 8-12, is Utah State University’s annual Research Week. A series of events and displays hosted in the Merrill-Cazier Library will celebrate the work of Utah State faculty, graduate students and undergraduates.

Discovery is a core part of USU’s land-grant mission, and Research Week seeks to shine a spotlight on the discoveries happening at the university. Those interested can learn more on the Research Week website or RSVP for Research Week events.

D. Wynne Thorne Lecture

Monday, April 8 |11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. | New Books Lounge

Each year, the D. Wynne Thorne Career Research Award is given to an individual who has completed outstanding research in their career. They are then invited to speak at a lecture event during Research Week. This year's speaker is David Tarboton, who has worked at Utah State University for more than three decades and currently serves as the director of the Water Research Laboratory. His research focuses on the intersection between hydrology and information systems, and he will discuss his research and his career during his presentation.

Student Research Symposium

Tuesday and Wednesday, April 9-10 | 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. | Various locations

The symposium is an annual celebration of student research at Utah State which features hundreds of presentations and represents every college and department at USU. Presenters are invited to share their work with a poster, an oral presentation accompanied by a slide deck, a creative performance, or an art exhibit. The symposium is open to the public, and attendees are welcome to view the presentations and visit with many of USU’s top student researchers.

The full symposium schedule is available to view online. The schedule includes a variety of special sessions:

• An early oral presentation session beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday morning
• A display of rare books on Tuesday from 2:30-4:30 p.m.
• Several musical performances on Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• The Honors Capstone Showcase on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.

Panel Discussion

Thursday, April 11 | 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. | Room 101

During the event, titled “Land Grant/R1: Community over Commercialization” and hosted by the Merrill-Cazier Library, attendees will delve into the challenges of maintaining R1 status while upholding the values of a land grant institution with a panel of students, faculty, and staff. The presentation will discuss strategies for democratizing knowledge production and upholding social responsibility in research and education. The panel will feature Noah Langenfeld from the Plants, Soils, and Climate Department, Christy Glass from the Center for Intersectional Gender Studies and Research, Jayme Walters from the Transforming Communities Institute, and Stephanie Western from the USU Libraries.

Student Research Celebration

Thursday, April 11 | 3-5 p.m. | Room 101

The Student Research Celebration recognizes the hard work and accomplishments of both undergraduate and graduate researchers at Utah State. The celebration also offers a valuable networking training experience for attending students.

Understanding how to effectively network with peers can be challenging for new researchers. During the event, attendees will receive training on initiating conversations and finding common ground. They’ll then have the opportunity to practice these skills while enjoying refreshments and music.

The celebration is open to all USU students and faculty.

Faculty Author Exhibit

All Week | New Books Lounge

There will also be an exhibit highlighting faculty authors stationed in the library all week. The Faculty Author Exhibit highlights the published works by Utah State University's faculty during the past year. The display includes books that were written or edited by university faculty. This year, 32 faculty authors are recognized; the majority of their works will be available to view at the exhibit.