Andrews Community Participates in Research Week

From Oct. 21–24, 2025

On Friday, Oct. 24, students and faculty members gave poster presentations at the Celebration of Research and Creative Scholarship.

Andrews University held its annual Research Week from Oct. 21–24, celebrating a diverse range of contemporary topics, including the importance of the humanities, advances in nanotechnology, biblical interpretation and literary criticism. Keynote lectures, oral presentations and poster presentations were given by accomplished alumni as well as current Andrews students and employees.

The first event was the John O. Waller Lectureship on Oct. 21, featuring Claudia M. Allen, an Andrews alumna who in 2013 was the first student to earn a minor in leadership. Allen is currently the director of Advancement for Maryland Humanities, a nonprofit organization that provides funds and programming for humanities-based educational opportunities. Her talk, titled “Notes of a Native Daughter: Preserving the Humanities in an Age of Erasure,” explored the importance of the humanities as a form of expression for all communities and cultures.

“From the moment God created the world using a speech, to the day and time that we stand and sit together now, the humanities have always been at the core of human creation,” said Allen. In her lecture, she expressed disapproval of excessive censorship from any politician or political party, instead advocating for “the preservation of our histories, so that we can see this is what society thought at this time.”

The following evening, Karen Lozano, department chair and trustee professor of materials science and NanoEngineering at Rice University, spoke for the Robert and Lillis Kingman Lecture Series on Science and Society. Her talk was entitled “Engineering the Future: The Role of Nanofibers in Innovation and Societal Impact.” Lozano spoke extensively about the new technologies being developed with nanofibers as well as spiritual and emotional growth she underwent as she progressed through her career.

Lozano shared that early in her tenure as an engineering professor, she felt “imposter syndrome” and found it hard to contribute during meetings with her colleagues. She described the hardships that she faced as a woman in the male-dominated engineering field.

“At the beginning, I used to worry, get anxiety and get depressed sometimes,” said Lozano. “Then when I started realizing that [God’s] driving the wheel, [I decided] I’m just going to keep on working hard, and then just let Him drive. … So, it probably took me three years to talk [in meetings], and then they couldn’t quiet me down.”

The final Research Week event was the 16th annual Andrews University Celebration of Research and Creative Scholarship, held on Friday, Oct. 24. Two keynote presentations were given by the winners of the 2025 Siegfried H. Horn Excellence in Research and Creative Scholarship Award—one by Ranko Stefanovic, professor of New Testament at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, and the other by Vanessa I. Corredera, professor of English at Baylor University and former chair of the Department of English at Andrews.

Both speakers delivered intricate presentations on their respective fields. Stefanovic’s lecture, titled “Writing a Bible Commentary on Romans,” shared his reflections on putting together a commentary for the new Seventh-day Adventist International Bible Commentary series. Corredera’s lecture, titled “Shakespeare and the Stories We Tell: A Case for Literary Criticism,” examined the value of researching literary works and the numerous themes and concepts that can be gleaned from quality texts.

Following the lectures, an hour was allotted for poster presentations by Andrews faculty members and students. The 37 poster presentations covered topics including archaeology, anthropology, agriculture, biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, mathematics, physics, education, film, communication, music, psychology and theology. Afterward, six oral presentations were given during breakout sessions on archaeological, mathematical and theological topics.

To learn more about future research events, please visit the Office of Research & Creative Scholarship’s web page.