On Tuesday, April 11, the College of Science hosted a new event, entitled Tapas Talks, in the MLK Library that served as a showcase for Research efforts by College of Science Faculty. Over three hours, 25 COS faculty gave five minute overviews of their research programs. The event was organized by College of Science Associate Dean for Research Marc d’Alarcao, who ran a tight ship ensuring that faculty kept within their five minute windows. In keeping with the theme of the event, Tapas from Picasso’s Tapas Restaurant were available throughout the three hour event. Faculty presenters represented all of the COS on-campus departments, and covered areas as diverse as cybersecurity, fluid mechanics, fetal alcohol syndrome, educational tools for the study of climate change and chemistry, analysis of faults in the bay area,  the engineering of light-activated enzymes, and the use of data science to discover and characterize galaxies. All of the participants were recent recipients of Research funding from the College of Science and/or the Office of Research. This well-attended event will become a regular showcase for COS faculty research, allowing COS faculty and staff to learn about the great work their colleagues are doing and to help students identify potential research mentors. Kudos to Dr. d’Alarcao, Associate Dean Elaine Collins, and the COS Staff for organizing this successful event.

Speaking of student research, the next event celebrating COS research productivity will be our annual Student Research Day, which will take place from 10 AM-1PM on Friday, May 5 in the Breezeway below Duncan Hall. As in past years, this event will showcase over 60 examples of student-driven research in the College, and it is a great way to not only see the variety of research our students are doing with COS faculty, but also provides an opportunity to talk to students about their projects. We hope you will be able to attend.