The NISS Graduate Student Network was brimming with excitement as they announced the 3rd two-day Graduate Student Network Research Conference. The event, which took place on Saturday, May 20, and Sunday, May 21, 2023, from 12 pm to 5 pm ET, marked a much-anticipated gathering of scholarly brilliance and innovation. Building on the resounding success of the previous year's conference in 2022, this year's edition proved to be an even more remarkable affair, presenting a challenge in selecting the winners from among the many fantastic presentations.
The GSN Research Conference was a multifaceted event, featuring an array of activities that aimed to foster academic excellence within the graduate student community. The centerpiece of the conference was the graduate student presentations, where students showcased their research findings and insights through either oral or poster presentations. These presentations were grouped into three categories: Original Research, Literature Research, and Literature Review.
In addition to the captivating student presentations, the conference offered a Scientific Writing Short Course, presented by Don Richards from the Department of Statistics at Penn State. This course aimed to equip attendees with invaluable insights into refining their scientific writing skills, enabling them to communicate their research effectively to a broader audience.
As a highlight of the event, two Invited Talks featured esteemed scholars from renowned institutions. Day 1 welcomed Dan Jeske from the Department of Statistics at UC Riverside on "A Neutral Zone Classifier for Three Classes with an Application to Text Mining", while Day 2 featured the brilliant Xihong Lin from Harvard University on her talk "A Multi-Dimensional Integrative Scoring Framework for Predicting Functional Variants in the Human Genome". Both speakers shared their expertise and knowledge, adding significant value to the conference.
One of the most awaited moments of the conference was the recognition and reward of exemplary graduate students. Four best presentation awardees were selected based on the content and quality of their presentations. The 1st and 2nd Tier winners received a prestigious prize of $150 USD each, while the 3rd Tier presentation winner was granted $100. Additionally, an outstanding poster award recipient also received $100. The awardees were not only celebrated during the conference but will also receive recognition at the NISS Reception and Awards Ceremony during JSM 2023 in Toronto, Canada, further amplifying the significance of their achievements.
1st Tier Winner - Rashmi Ranjan Bhuyan, University of Southern California
2nd Tier Winner 1 - Durbadal Ghosh, Florida State University
2nd Tier Winner 2 - Pengfei Lyu, Florida State University
Poster Winner - Priyanjali Bukke, George Mason University
The GSN Graduate Student Research Conference opened its virtual doors to anyone interested in exploring cutting-edge research and academic advancements. Attendees had the opportunity to witness the next generation of scholars and their pioneering discoveries.
The success of the conference would not have been possible without the generous sponsorship of Procter and Gamble (P&G), who actively supported NISS as an industry affiliate for the second time. P&G's commitment to nurturing young talent and promoting excellence in research played a pivotal role in making the event a resounding success.
As the conference came to a close, the organizers and participants looked back on two days filled with intellectual exchange, insightful discussions, and the celebration of knowledge and innovation. With the anticipation of another successful gathering in the future, the GSN Graduate Student Research Conference continued to serve as a beacon for the advancement of research and collaboration within the academic community.