BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Students will present individual research projects at the 36th annual John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference on Saturday, April 12, at Illinois Wesleyan University.
Established in 1990, the conference is open for students in any academic program or grade level at the University to participate. Well over 100 students will be delivering poster and oral presentations of research, along with a juried art exhibition and dance concert, representing creative projects as well as research. The campus community is encouraged to attend and engage with student presenters.
Oral and poster presentations will begin at 8:30 a.m. in the Center for Natural Sciences (CNS) and will feature research on diverse topics, including plastic-burning methods in developing nations, juvenile record expungement policies in Illinois, the effects of small-group activities on elementary school learning, as well as insights from IWU students in a reading group with incarcerated individuals.
Assistant Professor of English Juan Rodríguez Barrera is the Chair of the Undergraduate Research Advisory Committee that organizes the conference. He said it is vital for students to be among peers who share a passion for sharing research.
“Highlighting student research and creative work in this venue is important because it aligns with the goals of a liberal arts institution like ours, which seeks to foster critical thinking, creativity and intellectual curiosity,” Rodríguez Barrera. “It also gives students the opportunity to see that they are part of a vibrant intellectual community dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge for the collective good.”
He added that the conference helps students step out of their disciplinary silos to
engage with alternative ways of knowing and thinking, all while serving as a chance
for students to grow professionally.
A public lecture will be presented by keynote speaker Emily Knox, Professor in the
School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Her areas of research include intellectual freedom, information access and ethics, and censorship.
“Many are grappling with anxieties about the future of democratic institutions and principles in this country, including freedom of speech and the right to express political dissent,” said Rodríguez Barrera. “We are truly excited to have her join us."
The annual research conference is named for explorer and geologist John Wesley Powell, a one-armed Civil War veteran and a founder of the National Geographic Society, who joined Illinois Wesleyan University’s faculty in 1865.