Two Outstanding Weekend Symposia

Looking ahead to this weekend, I’m excited about two symposia: one that will showcase the thinking, research, and creativity of Oberlin’s students and faculty, and one that will explore the complexity of science.

Oberlin’s Senior Symposium, which celebrates the independent research and creative endeavors of our graduating students, is one of my favorite events of the academic year. It is always fascinating to see the wide variety of academic and artistic projects Oberlin’s seniors have pursued.

This year marks the seventh edition of Senior Symposium. More than 50 seniors and fifth-year students on 17 panels will each give a 12-minute presentation regarding work they performed for honors or capstone projects or research they conducted individually or with a faculty mentor.

The symposium begins at 1 p.m. in King 306 with opening remarks from Tim Elgren, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Concurrent panels begin at 1:30, 2:45, and 4 p.m. in various rooms on the third floor of King, and a reception in the Rice/King Courtyard will begin at 5:15 p.m. Congratulations to all the participants and to their faculty and staff advisors and mentors on the outstanding work!

On Saturday, Oberlin will host the symposium How Complexity Science is Changing Our Understanding of the World, the second in a series of symposia funded by a generous gift from the Oppenheim family of North Manchester, Indiana. The symposium will feature five international experts addressing common themes in dealing with complexity in social and natural science. The keynote speaker will be Melanie Mitchell, professor of computer science at Portland State University and external professor and member of the Science Board at the Santa Fe Institute. Bob Eisenstein ’64 was instrumental in making this outstanding event a reality. Find more details about the symposium on this website.