Academic Conference to be Held at Andrews

MASAL on campus in March

by Jenna Neil

The annual Michigan Academy of Science, Arts & Letters (MASAL) conference will take place on the campus of Andrews University on Friday, March 13, 2015.  MASAL, an interdisciplinary academic conference, is held each year at a different university in Michigan. 

“Being able to host MASAL is really an honor for Andrews University,” says Sarah Burton, administrative assistant in the Office of Research and Creative Scholarship. “It means that we are recognized as a university with substantial research programs that produce excellent scholarship.” 

Conference participants, including undergraduate and graduate students, as well as faculty members, give presentations on their research, with time for questions and answers after each presentation.  There is also a poster session where presenters can discuss their research with interested participants in a more informal setting.

With more than thirty parallel sessions, there is a session for just about any academic discipline, from Administration and Anthropology to Women’s & Gender Studies and Zoology.  Several of the section chairs for the event are from Andrews University, including Bruce Closser, associate professor of English, Brendan Cross, assistant professor of physics, Ryan Hayes, associate professor of chemistry, Shandelle Henson, professor of mathematics, Boon-Chai Ng, professor of engineering, Ryan Hayes, associate professor of chemistry, Krista Turner, masters student in English, and Rachel Williams-Smith, associate professor of communication. 

The afternoon Keynote Address will be given by Andrews University faculty members James Hayward (biology) and Shandelle Henson (mathematics) on their ecological research on the effects of climate change on the behavior of seabirds.   The deadline to submit abstracts for consideration for the conference is January 6, 2015. For more information on MASAL, visit andrews.edu/go/masal.