Students and faculty of the UND Biology Department celebrated the 217th birthday of Charles Darwin with a research poster presentation event on Wednesday, Feb. 11.
Held from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on the fourth floor of the Chester Fritz Library, this celebration of the famed biologist doubled as a way of showcasing the work being conducted by members of the department, from professors to graduate students. A total of twenty posters displaying various biology-based research projects were presented.
The event was hosted and primarily organized by Biology Professor Rebecca Simmons, who was enthusiastic that she was able to finally bring to fruition an idea she had been hoping to make happen for several years.
“Lots of biology departments across the nation celebrate Darwin Day, and so I’ve always wanted to do this,” Simmons said. “I feel like it was the best thing that we’ve done in a long time.”
The students who created and presented posters did so as assignments for Simmons’ BIOL 312: Evolution course. Students were placed into groups and assigned either a professor of the department or one of its many graduate students, whom they then interviewed to learn more about their work. As could be expected from a field as wide-reaching as biology, the scope of the topics was highly varied: Some posters highlighted research related to humans directly, such as time-restricted eating or the life spans of blood cells; many others focused on animals with a goal of conservation, such as the study of how giraffes behave in variously sized protected areas, or how chromosomal inversion leads to distinct behavioral strategies in the same species of bird.
The one linking factor between these vast and varied topics is their connection to Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution. Considered to be one of the influential scientists of all time, Darwin made enormous contributions to evolutionary biology, namely his now widely accepted theory that all species descend from a common ancestor. He is also well known as the man who identified the process of natural selection as the means by which organisms evolve.
As the event wound toward its end, the room was loud with conversation between staff and students, not to mention the subjects of the posters who were happy to see their work accurately represented in front of a large biology audience. Even after the posters came down, spirits remained high.
“I think [the celebration] went great,” Simmons said. “We’re going to do this every year.”
Quinn Berg is a Dakota Student Section Editor. He can be reached at [email protected].
