Westridge Students Prep for Research in Science Presentations at So Cal Undergraduate Research Conference

While most of us slept in on the Saturday of Thanksgiving Break, 10 seniors from the Research in Science class and two junior (along with Dr. Skophammer and Upper School Assistant Ashley Leonard), boarded an early bus for the Southern California Conference for Undergraduate Research. The event included hundreds of presentations from students and faculty from the UCs to the Cal States, private institutions such as CalTech and Harvey Mudd, and even the National Cancer Institute.

Skophammer has taken Research in Science students to this conference since 2015 to give them an idea of what a scientific conference is like and to boost their confidence for both talks and posters they will present to our community.

“The conference was an unprecedented opportunity that provided me with a wide range of insight into how aspiring scientists take the necessary steps to plan, implement, and write advanced research,” said Jessica L. ’24. “Engaging with the seminars, sessions, and undergraduates there, I uncovered that research is an inclusive space that truly has no bounds when it comes to the topics that are pursued.”

Jessica went on to say that she saw a connection between research she has worked on at Westridge and what she saw at the conference. “We aspire to identify a pressing problem and sketch out a workable thesis. We also recognize how important it is to acknowledge the current events happening in the world; this way we can get to the root of the problem and find a solvency.”

The conference is broadly multi-disciplinary, including the arts, humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and applied sciences.

Research in Science Student Presentations

The 10th Annual Research in Science Lunch Talk series kicked off this week with Daria H. ’24 (pictured above) presenting her work entitled “Investigating the Properties of Plasmas and Unbalanced Systems,” which she performed in the Bellan Lab at Caltech. Presentations continue through April and culminate in a May poster fair, open to the Westridge community, where all 22 students will present their work.

Westridge School, 324 Madeline Drive, Pasadena, (626) 799-1053 ext. 200 or visit www.westridge.org.