The symposium was established in 1992 and is named for the late Karen E. Wetterhahn, Professor of Chemistry and co-founder of the Women In Science Project.
Dartmouth places high value on undergraduates' involvement in inquiry-based research as part of their overall education. Faculty, graduate students, campus administrators, undergraduates, friends and family gather to hear about cutting edge research from the invited keynote speaker and to interact with the student researchers about their work. High school science teachers are also invited to bring their students to expand their educational horizons and aspirations.
All Dartmouth undergraduates conducting scientific research with Dartmouth faculty (including Geisel and Thayer) are invited to present a poster at the symposium. Students may also opt to participate in these competitions:
Developing aspiring students into the next generation of professional scientists includes guiding them on how to effectively communicate their work to their peers and to the wider public. Faculty may encourage any of their undergraduate researchers to present a poster at the symposium, and then guide their students through the process of designing an effective poster.
The informal mixing of faculty, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students with undergraduates during the poster session is an excellent opportunity for modeling behaviors around networking and communicating science. We encourage faculty and research colleagues to support Dartmouth's talented undergraduate researchers by attending the symposium and talking with a broad range of students during the poster session.