Hope College is presenting multiple activities open to the public as part of the college's celebration of National Undergraduate Research Week, which begins Monday, April 11.
Hope College is presenting multiple activities open to the public as part of the college's celebration of National Undergraduate Research Week, which begins Monday, April 11.
The week will open with the keynote address "Making Explicit the Implicit: Defining Undergraduate Research" by Dr. Nancy Hensel, who is executive officer of the Council on Undergraduate Research, on Monday, April 11, at 2:30 p.m. in the DeWitt Center main theatre.
The week's subsequent events will include multiple presentations in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and natural and applied sciences. The events include concerts in music and dance, an art exhibition, a play, multiple lectures and panel discussions about involvement in research, and the annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Performance featuring poster presentations on more than 200 projects in which more than 360 students participated. To help inspire the next generation of researchers, Hope has also scheduled several brief research-activity camps for area children.
Except for the play, admission to all of the activities is free, although advance registration is required for the research-activity camps for children.
The week of April 11 has been declared National Undergraduate Research Week by the U.S. House of Representatives. The resolution describes undergraduate research as "essential to pushing the Nation's innovation agenda forward by increasing the interest and persistence among young people in the crucial science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, and to cultivating the interest of would-be researchers who pursue a new aspiration of graduate education after participating in undergraduate research."
In addition to the opening keynote, activities on Monday, April 11, will include the presentation "Research Opportunities for High School Students," at 4 p.m. in room 1019 of the SchaapScienceCenter; a jazz combos concert at 7 p.m. in Wichers Auditorium of Nykerk Hall of Music; and a student dance concert at 8 p.m. in the Dow Center dance studio. Also on Monday, and throughout the week, the gallery of the De Pree Art Center will be featuring work by graduating senior art majors; the exhibition runs April 8-May 8 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 1-5 p.m. on Sundays.
Tuesday, April 12, will feature a student dance concert at 8 p.m. at the Dow Center dance studio. Hope will also present the CUR-sponsored, national webinar "Transformational Learning Through Undergraduate Research and Creative Performance" at 2 p.m.
Wednesday, April 13, will feature readings by senior creative writers at 3 p.m. in the Fried-Hemenway Auditorium of the Martha Miller Center for Global Communication; the panel presentation "Inspiration on Life Beyond Hope," focusing on work/life balance, featuring multiple alumni at 6 p.m. in Winants Auditorium of Graves Hall; and a jazz ensembles concert at 7:30 p.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel.
Thursday, April 14, will feature research presentations by three arts and humanities students at 1 p.m. in the Maas Center conference room; an overview of international research and service-learning experiences, "The World Is Your Classroom," at 3 p.m. on the second floor of the rotunda of the Martha Miller Center for Global Communication; and reflections regarding participation in research by four students - representing the arts, humanities, social sciences, and natural and applied sciences - at 7 p.m. in room 1118 of the Schaap Science Center.
The 10th annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Performance will take place on Friday, April 15, from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Richard and Helen DeVos Fieldhouse. The presentations will feature posters illustrating research projects and creative work by students, with many of the students on-hand to discuss their work. The topics range from the aftermath of Haiti's 2010 earthquake, to a student's work designing costumes for a Hope play, to security on smartphones.
Friday, April 15, will also feature the opening of Hope College Theatre's production of "Gone Missing" at 8 p.m. in the DeWitt Center main theatre. There will also be performances on Saturday, April 16, and Tuesday-Thursday, April 19-21. Tickets are $10 for regular admission, $7 for senior citizens and $5 for students, and are available in the ticket office in the main lobby of the DeVos Fieldhouse, which is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and may be called at (616) 395-7890.
The research-activity camps, ranging in length from one-and-a-half to three hours, will take place on Thursday, April 14, and Saturday, April 16, and will feature dance, communication, kinesiology, literature, television production, and the natural and applied sciences.