More than forty students, faculty, family, and friends attended the annual Lucerna Symposium on March 5 in Pierson Auditorium at UMKC. Three of the nine undergraduates whose research articles appear in the new volume of Lucerna gave brief presentations about their remarkable scholarship and answered questions posed by the audience at the event sponsored by the Honors College.

Honors College student Sophie Jess spoke about her article, “Please Touch: An Exploration of the Bloch Building as a Post-Museum in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.” Grace Reeseman shared highlights from her research, “Overcoming LDR Saturation in a Sun Tracking Solar Panel System.” Honors College student Chase Ford summarized his study, “The Portu-guise: Influence on the Portuguese National Identity Post-Carnation Revolution.”

Dr. Gayle Levy, the director of the Honors College, offered opening remarks and an overview of the history of Lucerna, the only peer-reviewed interdisciplinary research journal open to submissions from all UMKC undergraduates. The Honors College began publishing Lucerna in 2005 as a service to the academic community and collaborates on its design with the Egghead Student Design Agency led by UMKC Professor Paul Tosh.

“We are so lucky to be able to come together as a community every year to celebrate the publication of the exciting and creative research that UMKC students conduct. I want to thank Senior Editor Joseph Allen and Lucerna faculty advisor Dr. Henrietta Rix Wood and their team for hosting a wonderful symposium!” Dr. Levy said.

Dr. Chris Liu, vice-chancellor for research, spoke about the importance of undergraduate research. Allen and Editor-in-Chief Katelyn Fisher also addressed the audience, thanking faculty advisors who work with contributors and the Lucerna staff, and encouraging new submissions for the next volume of the journal.

The latest edition of Lucerna soon will be available in digital form on the Honors College website at honors.umkc.edu/get-involved/lucerna/.