ATLANTA– Mercer University’s eighth annual Atlanta Research Conference will take place on April 14, 10 a.m.- 3 p.m., to showcase work by students and faculty from the Cecil B. Day Graduate and Professional Campus and Regional Academic Centers.
“The annual Mercer Atlanta Research Conference showcases outstanding student and faculty research projects. The conference highlights the excellent quality and breadth of the research programs on the Atlanta campus and demonstrates Mercer’s expanding research focus,” said Dr. Wayne Glasgow, senior vice provost for research and dean of graduate studies.
Following the opening ceremony, poster presentations and concurrent speaker sessions will be offered throughout the day until 3 p.m. A keynote address and student awards ceremony will take place during lunch from 12:20-1:30 p.m. All events will be held in the Atlanta Administration and Conference Center.
The conference’s keynote speaker will be Dr. William Randall, professor of gerontology at St. Thomas University. His address is titled “Chaos or Coherence? Interdisciplinarity and Narrative.”
A graduate of Harvard, Princeton Seminary and the University of Toronto, he is author or co-author of more than 60 publications on topics related to narrative gerontology, with a special interest in the importance of “narrative care” with older adults.
Additionally, this year’s Monroe F. Swilley Jr. Student Research Award will be presented to Hiep Nyugen and Michelle Vu, students in the College of Pharmacy. The award, which includes a $250 cash prize, recognizes a student or students who best incorporate the use of the University Libraries’ collections and services and demonstrate active critical thinking.
Nguyen and Vu will present a poster presentation on “TRIPROTECT: An Innovative Technology for Easy, Safe and Effective Self-Disposal of Medications.”
Presenters will represent Penfield College, the College of Pharmacy, the Georgia Baptist College of Nursing, the College of Health Professions, McAfee School of Theology, the School of Medicine and Tift College of Education.
Dr. Kenyon Knapp, associate professor of counseling and coordinator of the Counselor Education and Supervision Ph.D. Program in Penfield College, organized the inaugural conference in 2011 “out of a desire to encourage and inspire both students and faculty to become more involved in research activities, as well as provide a venue where they can share their findings.”
This year’s conference planning committee, chaired by Dr. Cameron Miller, assistant professor and chair of human services and psychology in Penfield College, included Dr. Sheena Brown in the College of Health Professions, Dr. Nadar Moniri in the College of Pharmacy, Dr. Kevin Jenkins and Dr. Pamela Larde in Tift College of Education, Florence Tang with the Swilley Library, and Dr. Morgan Kiper Riechel, Dr. Wesley Barker, Dr. Laurie Lankin, Dr. Kevin Williams, Dr. Arla Bernstein, Dr. Feng Liu and Dr. Knapp in Penfield College.
For more information, contact Dr. Miller at miller_c@mercer.edu.
