STEM Research Poster Session

On Sept. 18, 2026, the Science Center hosted a STEM research poster session in the atrium from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. A total of eight posters were presented concurrently, with attendees shifting between and among presenters’ works. Subjects of research included (but were not limited to) psychology, biology, mathematics, and geology. Students, professors, alumni, and members of the Beloit community joined for the viewing.

“It’s good for the community to see other people achieving these things and … making something out of their hard work,” said Lilliane McCully’28. “And that’s very encouraging, especially to like new students, to see that they can also do incredible stuff like this.” McCully is a geology major and student researcher of preliminary characterizations of microfossils in the middle Devonia, Charlevoix, and Petoskey formations of northern Michigan. “I’ve had to ask a lot of important questions, and I feel a lot more prepared for professional science because of it,” she said about the overall experience.

“I think it’s really rewarding to … work on something really hard over the summer and then kind of have other people show interest in your work. And I feel like it’s just like a fun thing to do,” said Araf Israk’29, math and computer science student researcher. Israk discussed his experience in research with The Round Table. “It was really difficult for me to kind of work on this, because I wasn’t actually familiar with topology and the mathematics behind it,” he said. “So I had to get different books, learn about different fields, and I had to do it really fast. And even though it put a lot of pressure on me, overall, I think it really pushed my boundaries and kind of motivated me to do more mathematics related research.”

Ellie Repinski’27, student researcher of mathematical modelling for African sleeping sickness, a neglected tropical disease, noted appreciation for interdisciplinary perspectives in sharing with the community. “People come with great questions, and they come with a lot more other perspectives that me, as a math student, didn’t necessarily think about when doing the research itself, Repinski said. “I had an anthropology person come through and discuss what it means for communities, and it’s just really cool seeing people get excited about the math that I was excited about.”

_{Featured image: Anna J. Autumn King’27}