Haley Knox Presents at 2017 CREATE Conference

2017 May 2

The Third Annual CREATE Conference at Eastern Connecticut State University took place on April 21. CREATE stands for "Celebrating Research Excellence and Artistic Talent at Eastern," and is the University's premier conference showcasing student research and creative activity.

Haley Knox '18 of Bristol presented a poster titled "Social Network Analysis Using Graph Theory." Knox majors in Mathematics.

"For my project, I focused on an article that used an employee email database at a university to analyze how their employees communicate," said Knox. "This project provides me with a strong background for the research I want to conduct in my honors thesis. Specifically, I'll be using the same techniques to analyze a network of fake news and how it spreads."

The one-day conference featured more than 300 Eastern undergraduates who presented talks, professional posters, live music, dance performances, art and photography exhibits, documentary films and panel discussions.

"CREATE was the first conference I've presented at," added Knox. "I learned so much in just the process of creating a professional poster. Presenting at a conference allows students to learn how to articulate what they've been working on."

"CREATE is a reaffirmation of Eastern's commitment to undergraduate research as Connecticut's only public liberal arts university," said Niti Pandey, business administration professor and conference co-chair. Reflecting on this year's record number of participants, she added, "There is a wonderful variety of presentations and performances for people to see. CREATE 2017 showcases the hard work and talent of our students and demonstrates the dedication of their faculty mentors. We look forward to an excellent event!"

From art to zoology, Shakespeare to social media, tax law to terrorism, Eastern students of all majors explore important concepts and produce exemplary research and creative work; the culmination of their work for the 2016-17 academic year was on display at CREATE.

Patricia Szczys, biology professor and conference co-chair, added: "CREATE is a superb learning experience for all who participate and a true celebration of our student's achievements."