A one-day event at Drake University will showcase the breadth of scientific research by local high school and college students—including one project that caught the eye of Ivanka Trump.
The 15th annual Drake University Conference on Undergraduate Research in the Sciences (DUCURS) is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, April 12, in Drake’s Olmsted Center and is free and open to the public. Students from four area high schools and four colleges and universities—Drake University, Grand View University, Des Moines Area Community College, and Upper Iowa University—will showcase their research.
Among the projects on display: research by Waukee APEX students, concerning nicotine content in e-cigarettes, which caught the eye of first daughter Ivanka Trump during a recent visit to Iowa. Beyond Waukee APEX, the other high schools represented are Hoover High School, Des Moines Central Campus, and Urbandale High School.
The event’s keynote speaker will be Elizabeth Stone, associate professor of chemistry at University of Iowa. Other speakers include Drake University Provost Sue Mattison, who will give the welcome remarks, and President Marty Martin, who will give remarks on STEM at Drake during the luncheon.
The day’s events—organized by students in the Drake University Science Collaborative Institute (DUSCI)—will be held in the Olmsted Center and will begin with registration at 8 a.m. in the 2nd floor lobby. The welcome address and keynote address will be in Sussman Theater, oral presentations and poster presentations will be on the 3rd level of Olmsted Center.
The day will conclude with the presentation of awards for the best poster and best oral presentation in Parents Hall South (2nd floor of Olmsted Center).
More information and registration, which is requested but not required, is available at www.drake.edu/ducurs.