Luke Davis 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.

Luke Davis '17 of Milldale presented a poster titled "Developing Geological Learning Units For Community Outreach and Recruitment Enhancement." Davis majors in Environmental Earth Science.

"In this project, three distinctive learning units were created to introduce children to fossils and their importance; common rock-forming minerals and their uses; and garnet, the state mineral of Connecticut," said Davis. "In addition, a separate Google Earth learning unit to help middle and high school students better understand geological processes and land forms. For all four exercises, accompanying study guides were created to provide additional information."

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.

"The CREATE conference helped me prepare for future conferences that I plan to attend," said Davis. "Presenting is an important skill to have for any career path, so learning to present to different types of people will help me get ready for the future no matter what career I choose."

"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."