Collegiality replaces competition in Mississippi College’s Fall Research Symposium

Students share their discoveries during the Fall 2025 Mississippi College STEM Research Symposium.

Graduate and undergraduate students presented original research from the last year at the Fall 2025 Mississippi College STEM Research Symposium on Dec. 3 in the Math, Chemistry and Computer Science (MCC) building on the Clinton campus.

Research posters touting discoveries in biological sciences, chemistry and biochemistry took up two floors of the building. Sponsored by the MC Office of Research and hosted by the MC School of Science and Mathematics, the event provided student researchers an outlet to showcase their work and discuss their findings with faculty and colleagues.

Traditionally a competition, this year’s event was instead dedicated to the memory of Dr. Joseph Kazery, a beloved assistant professor of biological sciences and 2025 College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Lecturer, who died Nov. 4. Kazery had served as co-coordinator of the symposium since 2021.

Each symposium participant received a certificate of achievement dedicated to “our teacher, mentor, colleague, and friend.”

“Dr. Kazery was an integral part of the symposium, and we felt that dedicating this year’s symposium to him would be appropriate,” said Angela Reiken, MC associate professor of biological sciences and symposium co-coordinator. “The STEM faculty are very proud of our resilient students and wanted to give them the opportunity to showcase their excellent research projects.”

David H. Magers, MC professor of chemistry and biochemistry and director of the MC Office of Research, said the 75 budding researchers who participated in the symposium honed their communication skills by discussing their research projects with attendees.

“I always say that undergraduate research is pedagogy at its best, because the students have to remember things from several different classes and synthesize that information,” Magers said. “They have to think about how to present their work, which means they have to really understand what they are doing. If they can explain their research, and if they can answer questions about their work, it gives them confidence.”

Because there was no competition this year, he said the symposium participants were able to relax a little more and concentrate on discussing their findings.

“We’ve tried to make them excited about their research, and in this symposium, they got to share their excitement with someone else,” Magers said.

He said all students could benefit from participating in the symposium – not just those who plan to enter a scientific field.

“Research is really good in any discipline, because it makes you synthesize information,” he said. “Whether you're working in industry or whether you're in graduate school, you have to bring together knowledge that you gained from several different sources and apply that to real-world situations. Research is always beneficial in that way.”