On April 2nd, the Catholic University of America held their annual University Research Day, an almost ten year old tradition that showcases the achievement and excellence in research by the university community. The day consists of keynote speakers, oral presentations, an exhibition of posters, and a recent addition of a mini film festival; the day concludes with an awards ceremony, recognizing those who delivered the most engaging and successful presentations.
It starts with the proposal; every year, the Research Day Planning Committee goes through hundreds of abstracts and research proposals to determine whose work will be showcased and in what way. The committee is co-chaired by Gregory Miller from the School of Arts and Sciences and Reiko Asano from the Conway School of Nursing; each department on campus is represented on this committee, and Patricia Andrasik represents the School of Architecture, something she has done for the past several years.
The committee selects oral presenters, and this year, graduate student Lauren Thompson and professors Jason Montgomery and Nathaniel Walker were chosen to present their research across different campus auditoriums. Lauren drew in a crowd for her presentation on her Thesis project, ‘Forging Futures: a transition into a new resilient chapter’. Professor Montgomery presented research on urban habitats from his manuscript that is currently under review, while simultaneously, Professor Walker had Conway room 111 talking about a potential roof garden above Crough.
After lunch and some musical performances, the day continued with poster presentations in the Pryzbyla Center Great Rooms. For the second year in a row, graduate student Olivia DiMattio had work included in research day; her thesis project ‘Fields of Healing: Optimizing the Micro-Hospital Model for People, Planet, and Profit’ was on display.
Masters student Glenda Rojas displayed her thesis project on ‘Exploring Vernacular Social Housing in Rural Ecuador’, while Vincente Johnson presented a poster on how AI could be used to make sustainable design an easier process. Vincente also stood alongside Olivia DiMattio, Melissa Kazanci, Ashley Ringor, and Victoria Volpi presenting their research from a Fall course they took with Professor Andrasik, ‘Diocesan Assessment and Benchmark Initiative: An Energy Audit of the Newark Archdiocesan Center’.
A day of impressive student work concluded with an annual awards ceremony. Graduate student Muhammad Ataul Gani was recognized as the winner of the award for Best Poster in the Masters student category for his thesis project, ‘Addressing Homelessness’. The students and faculty continue to make our department proud with their accomplishments in research!
Catholic University has achieved R1 recognition, which distinguishes the university as a top tier research institution. It is a prestigious achievement, as only 187 other colleges in America have earned this reputation. “The University will preserve its historic strength in the humanities and sacred sciences and will simultaneously continue to grow its externally funded research by sustaining already strong relationships with NASA, the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Department of Energy.”
Read more about the University’s R1 status: https://www.catholic.edu/all-stories/catholic-university-joins-top-tier-nations-research-universities
Article and photos by Katherine Chmielewski