Students Flex Professional Skills in Symposium
Winning research presentations highlight professional growth opportunities for arts and sciences students.
Thirty-two undergraduate students from across the College of Arts and Sciences earned top scores for their research and creative achievements during the Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research Symposium (ASUReS) on April 9. Winning presentations were recognized during an awards reception on April 28.
More than just a student competition, ASUReS is also a growth experience that helps students refine their research and presentation skills. The ability to communicate with confidence is a highly sought-after skill by employers. Studies show, though, that 64% of college students report a fear of public speaking, and as many as 89% of students look to their undergraduate programs to include opportunities to improve public speaking.
ASUReS offers students this type of valuable experience: delivering professional presentations and receiving detailed feedback from the judging panel after the symposium, with personalized comments that offer insight into their strengths and areas for improvement.
This year’s symposium featured 90 total presentations by 115 students representing more than 35 majors and interdisciplinary combinations of both traditional disciplines and emerging fields.
Winning Presenters Gained Valuable Professional Experience
ASUReS winners found benefits in both developing their presentations and delivering them.
“Preparing for ASUReS helped add to our research project experience by really making us think about the relevance and significance of our work, especially to Knoxville and to Tennessee,” said Ellie Smith, who co-presented with Lili Dase. Their preparations gave them the opportunity to focus their months of sociology research on community issues in rural Tennessee.
“It really made us reconsider all the work that we’ve done and how to condense it in a way to effectively share,” said Dase. “We had to make sure, when we’re sharing these stories that are not directly our own, that we’re doing it effectively and in a respectful manner.”
History major Gracie Amburn, in her second year of ASUReS participation, found valuable lessons in the symposium format that she has already put into practice for professional conferences like Tennessee Tech’s 2025 Appalachian Studies Association Conference.
“Preparing for ASUReS last year really helped me with that,” said Amburn, who looks forward to future conferences and continuing to hone her history research for accessibility to public audiences. “It’s also really useful when looking into grad schools and future careers—being able to show I did research on this scale and that I’m able to articulate it in a concise manner and converse about it.”
Biological sciences major Ryan Mesler found the symposium helped him focus his research communication skills—and practice for unexpected pivots when engaging with on-the-spot questions from judges.
“I had to do a lot of supplemental research to predict anything that they could ask me about, and to use it moving forward,” said Mesler. “One of the judges presented a question for me that was an incredible idea that I’d love to do in the future. That helped me a lot.”
Biochemistry and cellular and molecular biology major Christa Glanzer also appreciated the professional interaction with ASUReS judges.
“They get really personal with you and really take it to the next level—asking you hard, professional questions,” said Glanzer. “You are really honing in on what your research was, defending it. It helped me realize how I can grow as a researcher.”
Presentation Variety and Judging Criteria Reflect Interdisciplinary Skills
Presentations were organized into 19 themed panels, curated to reflect the interdisciplinary and innovative nature of the college community. These themes highlighted the remarkable ways our students connect disciplines to tackle pressing real-world questions, from isotopic analysis of ancient rituals and literary exploration of gender norms to cutting-edge studies in neuroscience and data-driven modeling.
Judges evaluated presentations based on students’ depth of understanding, the expertise they demonstrate, originality and innovation, their engagement and delivery, and overall impact of their work’s relevance, significance, and contribution to the discipline.
See the Full List of Winning ASUReS Presenters
By Randall Brown