COOKEVILLE – Tennessee Tech will host the 131st meeting of the Tennessee Academy of Science in-person Saturday, Nov. 6, in the recently opened Lab Science Commons on campus.
“It’s exciting to host the academy at Tech– even more so this year since we are utilizing much of Stonecipher Lecture Hall and the Laboratory Science Commons. Plus, it will be good to see, face-to-face, many colleagues that we’ve not seen in a while,” Jeffrey Boles, chemistry chair at Tech, said.
The TAS was founded in 1912 and directs Tennesseans on various science issues. The academy manages continuing programs in various fields, coordinates symposia and interacts with the national scientific culture. It is associated with two national societies and seven Tennessee societies.
Professor Adam Holley from the department of physics at Tech will be the featured speaker for the plenary session of this year’s meeting. His talk is titled “The Tortoise and the Hare: A Race for Answers to Big Questions About the Universe.”
Holley received his Ph.D. in experimental nuclear physics from North Carolina State University and studies very low energy “ultracold” neutrons and their potential for helping explain what we observe about the universe.
Tech hosts the annual meeting about once every 10 years, rotating hosting duties with other universities in the state. This year they are expecting between 200-300 people, according to Boles.
A highlight of the annual meeting is the poster and oral presentations by the students. The poster set up will begin at 8:15 that morning with presentations and judging of the student posters to follow.
“There will likely be up to 100 poster presentations at this event, mounted on tripods along the center hallways of LSC. The poster provides an introduction to the research topic, the background and methods along with the results and conclusions.”
In addition to the morning poster sessions there are several afternoon sessions of oral presentations, as well.
“Students are judged in both poster and oral presentations. Those placing first, second and third place in each category are provided certificates at an afternoon awards ceremony.”
Changes to the meeting procedures will be made due to COVID-19 concerns.
“The academy voted to have a mask mandate while inside buildings. Speakers at podiums and those eating or drinking are the only ones that can be unmasked.”
On-site registration will begin at 7:30 a.m. Saturday in Stonecipher Lecture Hall, located on Golden Eagle Way between Stadium Drive and N Peachtree Avenue or one can register on-line at www.tennacadofsci.org.
Tennessee Tech is located at 1 William L Jones Dr, Cookeville, TN 38505.
