Students to Tout Summer Research Projects

Twenty students will exhibit their summer research projects Thursday, Sept. 8, from 4-6 p.m. in Winter Hall. “A Celebration of Summer Research at Westmont” is free and open to the public.

Students will present their findings on poster boards and be available to answer questions during the reception in the rotunda. The event includes student speakers Sara Humes ’12, Samantha Gardner ’13 and Sarah Shasberger ’12, who will discuss their research experiences in the Darling Foundation Lecture Hall beginning at 4:30 p.m. Dr. Brian Novy ’02, who graduated from Westmont College cum laude, will speak about “Westmont to Whitlockite and Back.” Novy received a doctor of dental surgery degree from Loma Linda University School of Dentistry, where he teaches restorative dentistry.

The students’ research includes a wide variety of topics including: the creation of a violin étude database for music teachers, collaborating on a syllabus for a future history course about researching the Holocaust, calibrating the Large-Area multi Institutional Scintillator Array (LISA), and innate and adaptive immunity against bacterial infection.

One of the hallmarks of Westmont’s academic program is the opportunity for undergraduate students to work with faculty on significant research projects.