Mind Expo features student works

Sara Mettlen
Staff Writer
April 22, 2004, Page 3

Doane will hold its fourth annual Mind Expo this afternoon from 3-6 p.m. in the Lied Building.
Mind Expo is an annual event that recognizes students' academic work. Christopher Wentworth, associate professor of physics and a member of the Mind Expo organizing committee, said it is a time for students to show others what they have been researching and to generate curiosity and interest in the projects.
"It's an opportunity for students to share their work with the entire Doane community," Wentworth said. "It's a very positive thing for students."
Wentworth noted that another advantage of Mind Expo is that it allows freshmen and sophomores to get a sense of projects that they could do as juniors or seniors.
The range of topics of the presentations is very broad. A few titles include, "Mock Arson Investigation Using Gas Chromatography," "Online Voting Application," and "Evolution or Evilution." The projects will be shown in a variety of ways, from theatrical performances to artwork to oral presentations.
About five years ago, it was decided that Doane needed to find a way to emphasize undergraduate research on campus. Wentworth and biology professor Russell Souchek went to a conference and discovered that several colleges were holding campus-wide symposiums to recognize undergraduate research. The two took this idea and broadened it beyond science to include theater, art, and almost anything creative that students want to present.
"It seems to generate a lot of interest," Wentworth said. "We've had a couple hundred people show up in the past years, so we expect it to be fairly well attended this year."
Door prizes will be given away by a drawing at the end of the day.
A complete schedule is available at http://www.doane.edu/mindexpo.