Six UW-River Falls students presented their research projects Wednesday at the state Capitol as part of the 20th annual Research in the Rotunda event that showcases undergraduate research by Universities of Wisconsin students. Pictured front row, left to right, are UW-River Falls Chancellor Maria Gallo, and students Nhi Nguyen, Lindsey Johnson, Katelyn Marano, and Hailey Beilke. Back row, left of sign is student Chase Syverud. Back row, right of sign are student Jordan Cioni and Molly Gerrish, who oversees UW-River Falls Research in the Rotunda students as director of the university’s Undergraduate Research, Scholarly and Creative Activity program. UWRF photo.

Students showcase academic, presentation skills at Research in the Rotunda
 

Event enables students to build on their research abilities, confidence
 

March 7, 2024 – In the weeks leading up to the 20th annual Research in the Rotunda event, as she worked on her research studying tiny materials dating to the age of dinosaurs, Katelyn Marano didn’t feel apprehensive about presenting her research at the state Capitol in Madison.

But that changed for a moment on Wednesday, when Marano, a University of Wisconsin-River Falls junior geology and earth science major from New Richmond, entered the Capitol and took in her shiny surroundings in the big building where state laws are enacted. 

“I wasn’t nervous until I stepped foot inside the Capitol,” Marano said, “and then I was.” 

Marano is one of six UW-River Falls students who presented their research to state lawmakers, Universities of Wisconsin officials and others as part of Research in the Rotunda, an annual event at the Capitol intended to highlight high-level undergraduate research being conducted by students in conjunction with their peer mentors. Other UW-River Falls participants included Hailey Beilke, a senior chemistry major from Big Lake, Minn.; Jordan Cioni, a post-baccalaureate physics major from Green Bay; Lindsey Johnson, a senior communication sciences and disorders major from Hudson; Nhi Nguyen, a senior biomedical and health science major from Hudson; and Chase Syverud, a junior animal science major from Waunakee.  

Other students acknowledged they were a bit apprehensive about their presentations initially. But as they set up their posters in the Capitol rotunda and prepared to discuss their research, their worries faded and were replaced by excitement, they said. 

“Once I put up my poster, all the nerves went away and I was just so excited to present my findings to everyone at the event,” Marano said. 

Students said they enjoyed presenting the research they had spent months, and in some cases longer, working on to people interested in hearing about their efforts. They described how they became interested in the topics they researched and the challenges and successes of their work. They praised the faculty who work with them, crediting their learning and improvement conducting research to those teachers.

In addition to talking with visitors to the rotunda about their research, students also visited the offices of lawmakers at the Capitol and discussed their work with members of the state Senate and Assembly and their staff members. Those interactions not only built their confidence as presenters, students said, but led to interesting conversations. 

For instance, as she discussed her research with one staff member, Marano learned that staffer had once wanted to be a paleontologist, the career that Marano aspires to. 

“Getting to share my research with him and hear his stories about nearly having the same major as me was incredible,” Marano said.

Nguyen presented her research studying the motility of breast cancer cells using 2D and 3D imaging. The process has involved lots of trial and error to get images just right so that study of the internal structures of breast cancer cells can occur, she said. She shared those challenges as part of her presentation and described how the research has evolved through difficulties. 

In fact, those challenges are exactly what is needed to learn from the research and move ahead successfully, Nguyen said. She said she has experienced personal growth through the research process and from presenting at the state Capitol. She said it was meaningful to be able to describe to one breast cancer survivor the details of her illness and why that woman was on a bone-strengthening treatment. 

“I discovered that I have the skills and patience that is needed to be successful in doing research,” she said. “This has helped boost my confidence and translated into success in other areas of my life.”

Beilke’s research involved measuring PFAS – known as “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down naturally and are linked to human health problems including cancer – using a three-phase electrode system. Like other students, her research process “has had many ups and downs,” she said. 

“Failure is required for anything to work,” she said, “and that was a hard lesson to learn.” 

Despite challenges, Beilke said her project has proven to be a success, a fact proven during her presentations about her work on Wednesday. 

“I started with no knowledge on this topic and now I can confidently talk about my research,” Beilke said, noting she has also learned to troubleshoot when experiments have puzzling results and has grown much more independent doing lab work. 

Those are exactly the kinds of lessons that Molly Gerrish, director of Undergraduate Research, Scholarly and Creative Activity (URSCA) at UW-River Falls, said she hopes students learn through the Research in the Rotunda process. Gerrish oversees Research in the Rotunda projects and said she is proud of the student presentations. 

The event enables students to make connections with others in their field of study, Gerrish said, to present their work to a high-level professional audience and to discuss their work face to face with state leaders.
 
“This not only highlights the incredible projects happening at UWRF, but it also allows state leaders to see and hear firsthand how important and impactful undergraduate research is to our students,” Gerrish said.