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MILLIGAN UNIVERSITY, Tenn. (April 6, 2022) — The ninth annual RISE Above Research Conference will be held this Thursday, April 7, beginning at 2 p.m. The sessions will be held on-campus and also are available online.
The conference is a culminating event for undergraduate and graduate students engaged in faculty-mentored research. Presentations will showcase scholarly and creative research from many disciplines and majors.
This year’s conference theme is “Caring for God’s Creation.” Students were encouraged to explore the concept of caring for God’s creation through the lens of their specific discipline and with the guidance of a faculty mentor.
“This conference is a showcase of what our students have learned through mentored research with faculty,” said Dr. Joy Drinnon, professor of psychology and director of undergraduate research at Milligan. “Research skills are critical for students preparing for master’s and doctorate-level work, and every year, I enjoy seeing the culmination of our students’ hard work when they present their final projects.”
Over 30 research projects will be presented, and topics cover the fields of chemistry, technology and engineering, humanities and fine arts, religious studies, sports analytics, economics, psychology and justice studies.
The event will culminate with a 7 p.m. faculty lecture titled “Energy and Sustainability: A Focus on the Industry Sector” presented by Milligan professor Hongyou Lu, program development associate for engineering and assistant professor of east Asian studies.
Her lecture presents the current trends of energy demand and emissions in the industrial sector. It discusses the technological, economic, and institutional challenges to significantly reduce emissions in this sector, as well as potential solutions to make the industrial sector more sustainable.
Hongyou is a senior scientific engineering associate in the Building and Industrial Applications Department of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. In her research, she conducts thermal energy modeling, technology assessment, and data analysis in key energy-intensive industries, such as cement and steel industries.
She holds degrees Peking University, Stanford University, and the University of California, Berkeley.
For more information on the RISE Above Research conference and to access links to the Zoom presentations, visit milligan.edu/research/conference.
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