Fascinating graduate conference showcases research at Newnham
Newnham MCR students showed the wide variety of research underway at College at the annual Newnham Graduate Conference, this weekend, which was based around the theme of 'Uncertainty'.
Organisers Elsie Lidington and Friederike Hedley said it was a topic of relevance to arts, science and humanities students, as well as reflecting the volatility of our times. The conference offered an opportunity to engage with diverse ideas and foster interdisciplinary dialogue.
Postgraduates on five panels across the day-long event considered institutional uncertainty; uncertainty in the earth and body; quantum and numerical uncertainty; philosophical uncertainty; and historical uncertainty. Keynote speaker and Newnham alumna Dr Nazia Jassim also talked about How the brain handles uncertainty and what that means for mental health.
The programme gives a flavour of the rich variety of presentations. To pull out just a few:
Kate Runciman looked at East Anglian fossils to explore what the warmer world of the pre-industrial Pliocene-Pleistocene periods can tell us about environmental change, which species adapted and were more resilient, and implications for climate models from such real-world examples.
Djamila Hiller (HS Chau Foundation scholar) considered how quantum mechanics does not just tolerate uncertainty but thrives on it, in her talk Quantum Computing – Harnessing uncertainty for the future.
Anastasiia Petrenko considered different people’s understanding of the word ‘now’ in her linguistics presentation, How long is now? Exploring the boundaries of the fuzzy present.
Graduate tutor Kate Fleet said the conference offered an opportunity for the postgraduate students to demonstrate their skills. “Clear thinking and explaining your research, concisely, to non-specialists is an art, and they were all very good. For the students, too, it’s an opportunity to make connections.”
Student Skyla White said: “I work in a very interdisciplinary field, so it's valuable to see what other people are looking at and understand the connections. Even just getting ideas on how they conduct their presentations is useful.”
At an evening reception in the Principal’s Lodge, awards were presented by the judges Kate Fleet, and Junior Research Fellows Alice Merryweather and Petia Tzokova.
Winners for the best long presentation were:
Djamila Hiller – Quantum Computing – Harnessing uncertainty for the future
Skyla White – An uncertain origin of life
Weronika Wiesiolek – The quantum uncertainty principle and beyond
And for flash talks:
Rebecca Boston – The complexities and subsequent uncertainties of the gut microbiome
Nikita Jha – From resilience to antifragility: rethinking education in an age of crisis and uncertainty
Anastasiia Petrenko – How long is now? Exploring the boundaries of the fuzzy present
Congratulations to all who took part in what was a fascinating day that really showed the strength of the graduate research community at Newnham.
Organisers were delighted. Friederike said: “I think the day provided what we set out to achieve: creating a supportive atmosphere for graduate Newnhamites to share their research and thoughts.”
Photo shows award winners and attendees at the evening reception.
We plan to feature more graduates’ research in videos/articles over the coming year.