Research is an essential part of the graduate student experience in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Villanova. Ranging from Biology and Chemistry to History and Philosophy, CLAS graduate students pursue a wide variety of fascinating research projects. The symposium will feature live oral and poster presentations along with a meet and greet with the presenters and graduate faculty. Please join the CLAS Office of Graduate Studies to support and celebrate graduate research on Friday, Oct. 27. Oral presentations will take place at 1 p.m. in the Dougherty Hall East Lounge followed by poster presentations at 3 p.m. in the Connelly Center Art Gallery. Refreshments will be served, and we look forward to seeing you there!

This ACS approved event, sponsored by the CLAS Office of Graduate Studies and co-sponsored by Falvey Library and the Center for Graduate Research and Education, is free and open to the public.

Please join us on Friday, April 28 from 3:00-4:30 p.m. in the Larson Kelly Auditorium (Room 132) and Atrium in Driscoll Hall, as we celebrate the official launch of the 2023 issue of CONCEPT, the interdisciplinary journal of graduate students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS). The ceremony will recognize this year’s Graduate Research Prize for top paper, along with all of the student authors and editors, faculty editors, and peer reviewers.

CONCEPT accepts submissions from Villanova graduate students in all fields of the arts and sciences and is an opportunity for them to share their scholarship and research. Last year’s edition featured papers covering a range of subjects including Theatre, Psychology, English, History, Political Science, Philosophy, Human Resources Development, and Classical Studies.

The 2023 edition of CONCEPT marks the 46th release of the journal. This ACS-Approved event, co-sponsored by Falvey Library, the Office of Graduate Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the Center for Graduate Research and Education, is free and open to the public.

Please REGISTER for the CONCEPT Recognition Ceremony. Once registered, you will be sent a link to the event.

Visit the CONCEPT website to learn more about the journal and to browse past volumes.

Photo courtesy of Isabel Choi.

Your ten-year-old sibling might ask you one morning, “So, what exactly do you do at school?” What if you study thermomechanical and electromagnetic properties of ceramic composites at high temperatures or smooth orthogonal decompositions? What would you say? How would you say it? This is the question graduate students competing in Three Minute Thesis (3MT) are forced to wonder and answer. At Villanova University’s 3MT competition, graduate students had to answer the question, “What do you do?” in three minutes or less. 

Held in The John and Joan Mullen Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, Feb. 24, 13 finalists (master’s and doctoral students at Villanova) presented their research to members of the audience in front of a large slideshow presentation. The stage was setup so that audience members were able to see the three-minute timer. Similar to that of a game show, audience members watched the timer tick down to minutes and then to mere seconds. After each presentation, numerous judges (Villanova faculty) would give feedback before going on to the next contestant.

Towards the end of the event, audience members were able to vote for a “people’s choice” award while the judges calculated the first and second place winners. Before the winners were announced, audience members were able to hear a couple personal comments from the contestants themselves–their process, struggles, and aspirations.

Eliana Uriona took first place for her presentation “Optimizing Biochar Conditions for Heavy Metal Immobilization in Contaminated Soils.” Uriona also earned the people’s choice award. Grace Sutoris, won second place for her presentation “Using Machine Learning to Detect Underlying Heartbeat During CPR.”

Representing Villanova University, Uriona will compete at the Northeast Regional 3MT Competition on Friday, April 28. The virtual competition will be hosted by the University of New Hampshire. Watch Villanova’s 2023 3MT competition here. Be sure to check out Falvey’s blog next year for 2024 3MT announcements.

Isabel Choi ’26, is Communication & Marketing Assistant at Falvey Library.

“Attending the competition definitely inspired me…to see dedicated graduate students present their studies….perhaps graduate research is something I should consider pursuing too!”

Please join us on Friday, Feb. 24, from 3-6 p.m. in the Topper Theatre, located in the John and Joan Mullen Center for the Performing Arts, for the Three Minute Thesis Competition.

Three Minute Thesis (3MT) is a competition for master’s and doctoral students to develop and showcase their research communication skills. Developed by The University of Queensland, 3MT cultivates students’ academic, professional, presentation and research communication skills. To be successful, competitors must effectively explain their research in three minutes, using language appropriate to a non-specialist audience.

Learn more about the 3MT Competition: https://www1.villanova.edu/university/research-scholarship/3mt.html

This event, co-sponsored by the Center for Graduate Research and Education and Falvey Library, is free and open to the public.

Grab your tickets to the competition HERE (there is no cost to attend the event).

Mark your calendars! Friday, November 11, 2022,  is an important day on campus as we celebrate excellence in graduate and undergraduate research at Villanova University!

The Center for Research and Fellowships (CRF) invites all to attend the Undergraduate Research Symposium on Friday, November 11th from 1-4 p.m. in the Villanova Room of the Connelly Center! Undergraduates from all colleges who engaged in research will share their work with you and the Villanova community through poster and oral presentations on a variety of topics. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the research happening in our community. The fourth volume of Villanova’s peer-reviewed undergraduate research journal, Veritas: Villanova Research Journal (VVRJ), will also be available at the symposium for all to enjoy. For more information on the event, please visit our webpage or contact crfresearch@villanova.edu.

The Office of Graduate Studies (CLAS) invites the Villanova Community to support and celebrate the research of graduate students on Friday, Nov. 11 at 1 p.m. Oral presentations will take place in the Connelly Cinema followed by poster presentations in the Art Gallery.

Research is an essential part of the graduate student experience in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Villanova. Ranging from Biology and Chemistry to History and Philosophy, CLAS graduate students pursue a wide variety of fascinating research projects. For this symposium, students were invited to use the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) format to submit a three-minute video about their work. Students were instructed to prepare to address a broad, non-specialist audience. The symposium will feature live oral and poster presentations from the top submissions along with a meet and greet with the presenters and graduate faculty. Refreshments will be served and we look forward to seeing you there!

This ACS approved event, sponsored by the Office of Graduate Studies (CLAS) and co-sponsored by Falvey Memorial Library and the Center for Graduate Research and Education, is free and open to the public.

Please be sure to help us honor the outstanding work of both our undergraduate and graduate students at Villanova!

In April, a virtual event was held to celebrate the release of the 2022 edition of CONCEPT,  the scholarly journal of graduate students in the Villanova University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS). This year’s edition of CONCEPT marks the 45th volume in the series.

Hosted by Emory Woodard, PhD, Dean, Graduate Studies in CLAS, the virtual recognition ceremony served as an opportunity to learn more about the multi-faceted process of getting CONCEPT prepared for publication. From enlisting faculty and graduate students to serve as editors and peer reviewers, carefully evaluating the many student submissions, and painstakingly editing student work—there are many steps involved in this great undertaking. At the event, students and faculty discussed their experiences working on production of the journal. You can view the event here.

CONCEPT accepts papers from graduate students in the arts and sciences and seeks to feature exceptional interdisciplinary work. It is published in partnership with the Office of Graduate Studies in CLAS and Falvey Library.

This year’s edition features papers covering a wide range of subjects, including Theatre, Psychology, English, History, Political Science, Philosophy, Human Resources Development, and Classical Studies.

We would like to especially highlight the work of two outstanding graduate student employees at Falvey Library: Emily Poteat and Ethan Shea. Poteat, a history major, is a graduate assistant for Distinctive Collections and Digital Engagement and Villanova’s Irish Studies Program. Her paper is titled, “Operation Barbarossa and Hitler’s War on the Eastern Front.” Shea, an English major, is a graduate assistant for the Communication and Marketing department. His piece is titled “The Unracing of Whiteness in Heart of Darkness.”

We are also proud to recognize the efforts of Library staff member Dave Uspal for his technical support of the journal. He is a member of the Technology Services department at Falvey Library.

Check out the article by Graduate Studies CLAS to learn more about the virtual event and to learn more about papers featured in the current issue, which is available in digital and print formats.

Falvey would like to congratulate the many faculty, staff, and students that made CONCEPT 2022 possible!

Regina Duffy is a Communication and Marketing Manager on the Communication and Marketing team in Falvey Memorial Library.

Back from a two-year hiatus, Villanova’s 32^nd Annual Gender & Women’s Studies (GWS) Conference will take place on Friday, March 25, from 8:45 a.m.-4 p.m. in the Connelly Center. Join Villanova GWS for an exciting day full day of panels and performances by Villanova undergraduate and graduate students from across the university. Additionally, complimentary breakfast, lunch, and snacks will be available throughout the day.

This year’s keynote luncheon will feature a lecture by Dr. Erin Murphy of Boston University, entitled “Amazons and Zombies: Margaret Cavendish’s Soldiers, Gender, and the Paradoxes of War.” You can pre-register for the keynote luncheon and view the full day schedule here. The GWS Conference counts as an official University absence, which means that students have permission to miss classes in order to attend.

If you are interested in volunteering on the day of the conference, please email gws@villanova.edu.

Looking for more GWS resources? Explore the GWS research guide or contact Jutta Seibert, Director of Research Services & Scholarly Engagement, GWS Librarian, for a research consultation.