Asbury Event Celebrates Student Research

February 22, 2018

Asbury University’s SEARCH Symposium will feature poster presentations, a research competition and keynote speaker on April 23.

WILMORE, Ky. – Asbury University is committed to academic excellence and spiritual vitality in all facets of the institution. One of the ways Asbury University honors students’ intellectual achievements is through the annual SEARCH Symposium, a celebration of student research that includes a research competition open to undergraduates of all majors.

Including research poster presentations, a research competition and a keynote speech, this year’s SEARCH Symposium will take place on April 23. The event is open to the public. Students who enter the research competition will compete for monetary prizes ($600 for first prize, $100 for second and third prizes). Students interested in submitting research must register by April 3. To learn more and to register, visit: asbury.edu/Research.

English major Faith Neece ’18, who competed in last year’s symposium with a research essay comparing the work of Martin Luther King Jr. and Ta-Nehisi Coates, says the project furthered her academic growth.

“Before doing the SEARCH project, I hadn’t really presented my research to other people,” Neece said. “This challenged me to think about how my research affects and shapes others. It helped me see how all of our academic endeavors are done in community and in conversation.”

In addition to poster presentations and the research competition, SEARCH will include a panel discussion with Asbury faculty, which will take place in the Student Center at 3 p.m., and a keynote speech from Dr. Deborah Haarsma at 7 p.m. in Hughes.

Haarsma is president of BioLogos, a Christian non-profit organization based in Grand Rapids, Mich. dedicated to inviting the church and the world to see the harmony between science and biblical faith. She earned her Ph.D. in Physics at M.I.T. and served as professor and chair in the department of physics and astronomy at Calvin College. With a talent for relating complex theories into easy-to-digest talks, she has spoken to multiple churches, colleges, and schools about the relationship between science and the Christian faith.

— by Cathryn Lien ’18

To learn more about the SEARCH Symposium, visit: asbury.edu/SEARCH.