Doctoral students tackle complex social challenges at annual research symposium
Watts College hosted its annual Doctoral Research Symposium on Friday, February 15, 2019. The event was a great success and was kicked-off by a welcome from Dean Jonathan Koppell and a compelling keynote presentation given by Dr. Elizabeth Hinton from Harvard University. Hinton made the case for education as means of countering the mass incarceration crisis in the U.S. through data, analysis and historical understanding.
Dean Koppell, in addressing the students, outlined the importance of their work. “You take our most complex challenges and give people a way to wrap their heads around them,” said Koppell.
He added “Your research illuminates the path towards solutions and is an illustration of the fullness of what Watts College does.”
Doctoral students presented overviews of 22 different research endeavors throughout six themed panels, ranging from finance and taxation to discrimination and cultural competence.
between Associate Deans Joanna Lucio and
Ramona Denby-Brinson
This year’s event also featured a panel of current assistant professors from each of the four Watts College schools. The panel focused on embarking on a career in academia after achieving your PhD. Afternoon workshops from ASU faculty also addressed topics like knowledge mobilization, getting published, research funding and preparing for challenging teaching situations.
The Best Paper was awarded to Seongkyung Cho for her research “Remaining Barriers: The Impact of Source of Income Anti-discrimination Laws on Poverty Concentration Among Housing Voucher Holders.”
Honorable mention awards went to Heyjie Jung for “Can I Be What I Perceive Myself to Be?: Linking Self-efficacy and Leadership in Science” and Yifan Chen’s and Qingqing Wang’s paper “Network Resilience to Combat the Regulatory Burden: When Scientists Need to Explore.”