The Department of Geology and Geophysics is ready to rock.
The department began its annual Rockstar Poster Competition on Thursday, a forum for student research and scientific communication. Fourteen undergraduates and 21 graduate students are participating in this year’s competition.
Geology professor Barbara Dutrow, the event’s co-organizer, said the competition allows students to experience a broad range of interests, from theoretical studies to field-based research. The open forum provides the perfect setting for communication and collaboration across interests, she said.
“We get so siloed in what we do that we often don’t know what our next door neighbors are doing, and this provides an outreach opportunity,” Dutrow said.
Geology junior Jessica Villers said the competition is the perfect opportunity to network with peers and professors who can provide valuable research critiques. Questioning peers and receiving tips from fellow researchers is the best way to fully understand research and grow as a researcher, she said.
Co-organizer and geology professor Darrell Henry said the collaborative learning environment can often benefit students just as much as formal learning in the classroom.
“It’s not only what we do for them, it’s what they do for each other,” Henry said. “The students learn probably as much from each other as they learn from us.”
Dutrow said working in a collaborative work environment or engaging in a collaborative space is important for today’s workforce. Being able to collaborate while also having ownership of a project is an important facet of research students learn while preparing for events like the Rockstar Poster Competition, she said.
Having ownership of research and being able to apply classroom skills to a real-world setting also inspires a strong work ethic, Villers said.
Geology senior Megan Borel agreed.
“As an undergraduate, it helps you to stay motivated,” Borel said. “For me, I was such a better student once I started to do undergraduate research because it was something that I could actually apply geology to.”
Dutrow said an important aspect of applying geological concepts in real-world settings is accepting that a clear cut answer often does not exist.
“There’s often, in science, no black and white answers,” Dutrow said. “There’s a large area of gray, like probabilities, and that’s sometimes difficult for students to learn because you teach them a concept and it’s this or that.”
Conducting research helps students develop the critical thinking skills necessary to address these gray areas, Henry said.
Geology professor and co-organizer Peter Doran said critical thinking skills and learning to communicate research findings is crucial for future job success. Presenting their research findings within the department allows students to practice the scientific jargon and presentation format they would experience in a professional conference setting, he said.
Henry said the competition’s student-centric nature also offers a low-pressure environment for students to practice presenting their research findings. Four judges from the college and outside departments will judge the students on their visuals, presentation and quality of communication.