More than 200 William & Mary undergraduates will reveal their research results Friday, Sept. 20 in Swem Library’s Read and Relax room at the Charles Center’s annual Fall Undergraduate Research Symposium.
The event, which typically draws several hundred attendees between its first and final sessions from 10:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., will highlight the collective intellectual passion behind W&M’s vibrant undergraduate research community. It is free and open to the public.
Divided into three sessions – two for printed and digital poster presentations and one for the visual arts – the symposium offers a unique opportunity for students of all disciplines to share, learn from one another and celebrate their dedication to rigorous research.
According to Charles Center Director Elizabeth Harbron, while most presenters received Charles Center funding to pursue their research alongside faculty mentors over the summer, the symposium includes many who received support from elsewhere on campus.
“We are thrilled to showcase the tremendous breadth of research topics our students explore in their projects,” Harbron said. “Symposium visitors will learn what research looks like in different fields from presenters spanning the arts, humanities, social sciences and sciences.”
This past summer, the Charles Center awarded nearly $1 million in research grants to over 270 students spanning more than 40 majors. These grants took a variety of forms, including traditional summer research grants, Research in Motion travel grants, Honors Fellowships for rising seniors and Catron Grants for Artistic Development.
Thirty-one of the summer projects were researched abroad, including the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Greece and South Korea, among others.
Twenty-six of the projects on display at this year’s symposium are focused in the arts and humanities, and 65 center in the social sciences. Topics in these areas range from senior Sarah Mahooti’s research on historic university theater costumes in relation to the treatment of queer and female bodies to “Confronting the status quo: Students of color’s narratives responding to white fragility in higher education environments,” co-presented by Kinsley Fandja ’25 and Adriek Gill ’25.
More than 100 STEM-related projects will be on display at the symposium, with a high proportion of those conducted by women, highlighting a significant gender diversity at W&M in historically and still predominantly male-dominated fields.
Twenty-six presenters will discuss their research on environmental conservation and sustainability topics, reflecting a burgeoning interest in these fields on campus.
“The symposium offers undergraduate researchers from nearly every discipline the opportunity to come together and share, discuss and learn from one another,” said Harbron.
She added that though faculty will not be presenting alongside their students, the symposium is one more way that their commitment to teaching, research and mentorship is in evidence across the university.
“The gathering also highlights the results of countless hours of mentorship that occurs during faculty office hours, in labs, and out in the field,” Harbron said.
The online schedule contains detailed information about the upcoming symposium.
Interested in applying for a research grant through the Charles Center? Information about opportunities and deadlines can be found on the Charles Center website.