51ĀŅĀ×

Supported by the Librariesā€™ Vernon R. and Marion Alden Endowment, the annual Student Research and Creative Activity Expo has no shortage of projects as hundreds of undergraduate, graduate and medical students gather to present original work and compete for cash prizes.

Designed with innovation in mind, the student-centered event showcases how learning gained in the classroom is applied to real-life scenarios. With over 2,000 visitors yearly, the Expo hosts teams of judges reviewing an impressive array of student projects including topics ranging from connecting popular culture to fashion; to how athletes deal with the pressure to perform; to establishing support programs for families with autistic children, among many more too numerous to list.

Award winners include:

• Meghan Little received the Librariesā€™ first place graduate student award for her work titled, ā€œConservation and Compliance: A Case Study in Kosovoā€™s Bjeshket e Nemuna National Park."
• Elizabeth Bennett was awarded the Librariesā€™ first place undergraduate award for her work titled, ā€œTolerating the Dissenters: A comparison of the Toleration Acts enacted in the 17th and 18th Century Great Britain and Ireland."
• Xinyue Ren received the Librariesā€™ library connection award for her work titled, ā€œWhat social media can do when designing a hybrid training for student workers in a university library."

Below are some of the Librariesā€™ 2019 first-place awardees and their work highlighted in photos. All Photos by Ben Siegel.