Graduate Research Cafe kicks off Feb. 11 at Deer Park Tavern

8:52 a.m., Jan. 30, 2013--University of Delaware graduate students routinely present their research at symposia and meetings using PowerPoint slides teeming with figures and findings.

But how will these students fare as they present their work — using non-technical language and unaided by technology — to peers and public who aren’t experts at the Deer Park Tavern in Newark, Del.? 

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On Monday, Feb. 11, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the historic tavern, Kristin de Getaldhi, doctoral student in art conservation, and Tyler Richardson, master’s student in biomechanics and movement science, will accept the challenge, as the first participants in UD’s inaugural Graduate Research Café series. 

The event, which is free and open to the public, promises to be a fun and meaningful learning experience for both the student speakers and the audience. Each presentation will last 20 minutes, followed by a discussion. 

In addition to receiving valuable one-on-one coaching by communications consultant Barbara Garland, each of the graduate student presenters will be videotaped by student volunteers under her guidance.

The new series builds on the success of UD’s popular Science Café series, which features faculty presenters. Now graduate students, who contribute significantly to UD research projects, will have a new forum for improving their skills in connecting with the public. And the audiences will benefit, too.

“The Graduate Research Cafés provide the opportunity for students to be professionally coached on effectively communicating their scholarship to the public while a diverse local community audience becomes more informed of the breadth and impact of research conducted at UD,” said Charlie Riordan, vice provost for research and for graduate education.

The series was established with the support of the Office of Graduate and Professional Education, the Center for Science, Ethics and Public Policy, the Interdisciplinary Humanities Research Center, Delaware EPSCoR and the National Science Foundation. 

Two additional Graduate Research Cafés will be held during the spring semester, on March 18 and April 15. Locations and speakers will be announced in the near future.