It is well known that the University of Western Ontario fosters world-renowned research.
Through strong faculty and researchers and excelling graduate students, Western continues to make its mark as a formidable, research-intensive university.
The Western Research Forum, which was established in 1987, now provides the perfect venue for local graduate students to showcase their world-class research in their own backyard.
The Western Research Forum is an annual, multidisciplinary conference organized by the Society of Graduate Students Academic Committee, and held right here at Western.
The conference features poster and oral presentations from graduate students hailing from disciplines across the campus. Since the WRF appeals to a diverse group of academics, the entire university community is encouraged to attend.
This year marks the 22nd anniversary of the annual research forum and is scheduled for Sat., Feb. 28 in The Wave, 2nd floor of the University Community Centre.
The format includes poster and oral presentations from graduate students throughout the day, organized in the following categories: Arts & Humanities; Social Science; Biological Science; Physical Science; or a combination thereof (multidisciplinary).
Presentations are judged and are eligible for the Dean’s Award for Research Excellence, as well as cash prizes.
This year, the forum is proud to announce the keynote speaker is Jorge Cham of PhD Comics (www.phdcomics.com).
Cham received his PhD from Stanford University in Mechanical Engineering and he is best known for his “Piled Higher and Deeper” comic strips, which document the ups and downs of life in graduate school. PhD Comics has been featured in Nature, the Chronicle of Higher Education, The Peer Review and The Washington Post, among many publications.
Want to showcase your research? The call for abstracts is currently open and available online at www.uwo.ca/sogs/Programs/wrf_submit.html. Abstracts are limited to 250 words for both poster and oral presentations. The submission deadline is Jan. 23 but don’t delay submission, as participation is limited to 150 registrants.
Want to see what fellow graduate students are showcasing? Check out student oral and poster presentations by marking Feb. 28 on the calendar and visiting the Western Research Forum website (www.uwo.ca/sogs/Programs/wrf.html) as the date approaches for a detailed schedule of events.
The writer is Vice-President Academic for the Society of Graduate Students.