More than 500 student posters on exhibit April 24 at Livingston Student Center

Many of today’s university research programs involve expertise from several disciplines, crossing boundaries of traditional academic schools and departments. This rich and sometimes surprising blend of expertise will be evident when Rutgers students showcase their projects during the annual Aresty Undergraduate Research Symposium on Friday, April 24.

Aresty Research students
Presenters and attendees speak with each other at the Aresty Symposium
Photo: Nick Romanenko, Rutgers University

Featuring the results of independent study by more than 500 students, the symposium takes place at the Livingston Student Center from 10:30 a.m. until 2 p.m.

“We have one of the few bird’s-eye views of Research at Rutgers,” said Brian Ballentine, director of the Aresty Research Center, reflecting on how this year’s student projects bring together examples of research that takes place throughout the university. Typically the research efforts that draw from multiple disciplines focus on leading-edge technology innovations and pressing social issues.

“This year, for example, we’re supporting several projects on Hurricane Sandy: one in social work, one in civil engineering and one in human ecology,” said Ballentine. “We also have several students working interdisciplinary work in robotics, from computer science, engineering and the Mason Gross School of the Arts with musical robots.”

Aresty students conduct their research under the direct supervision of a professor while also being mentored in the research process through the center’s peer leaders. “Through Aresty’s peer groups, the students working on these projects can come together, even though their professors may have never met,” Ballentine said.

A sample of student research projects:

Coastal Storm Risk Management
During Hurricane Sandy, half of New Jersey’s coastal residents who were under orders to evacuate told the Monmouth Polling Institute they did not do so. Alex Toke, a junior in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, works with Cara Cuite, associate professor of human ecology, to test message content and delivery that can motivate more people to heed urgent warnings. These include formatting storm probability information, personalizing warnings and delivering messages using social media. Toke’s results will go into a best practices guide that local emergency managers can use to keep residents safe.

Digital Dracula
A website to help students and the public learn about the Dracula of history, the 15th-century Romanian ruler and warrior Vlad III Ţepeş, and his metamorphosis into a western cultural icon popularized by Bram Stoker’s vampire novel is emerging from research by School of Arts and Sciences sophomore Ian Wardell. Working with Stephen Reinert, associate professor of history, Wardell is assembling a comprehensive collection of text, visual and audio materials to serve as a resource for Reinert’s history course, “Dracula: Facts and Fictions” and several seminars.

Engaging Millenials in Politics and Democracy
The political behavior of Millennial Generation members is different from that of previous generations, and now that the earliest members are beyond 35, researchers are attempting to explain, predict and understand this behavior. Aaron Jaslove, a sophomore in the School of Arts and Sciences, is studying how close researchers have come to determining how close millennials’ behavior reflects the character of the generation itself. Working with Elizabeth Matto, assistant research professor in the Eagleton Institute of Politics, Jaslove is evaluating a selection of youth political actions and attempting to understand the democratic ramifications of these actions. He hopes the research will be useful in engaging more young people in politics.


Media inquiries: Carl Blesch, 848-932-0550, cblesch@ucm.rutgers.edu