ScienceFest chairman John Stimac described ScienceFest as a celebration of graduate and undergraduate research.

The event, held Friday in the University Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union, provided students of various disciplines the chance to interact and receive awards for their work.

Junior chemistry major Rebecca Grove received the biggest award of the day, the Barry M. Goldwater scholarship. The award is given to up to 300 juniors and seniors nationwide each academic year. Past recipients include students from Princeton University, Harvard University and Duke University.

Grove is the first Eastern student to earn the scholarship in its 22-year history.

“I was just speechless, completely speechless,” Grove said.

Grove received the scholarship for her research on molecular bonding in crystal structures. The scholarship will cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board for up to a total of $7500.

Grove wasn’t the only student to receive awards. Twenty-nine students – 12 graduate students and 15 undergraduate students – won awards for their research. Research topics ranged from the ancestry of Illinois squirrels to the effect of negative presidential campaign ads on voter behavior. Research information was presented on posters that were on display.

A panel discussion dealing with the theme of land environmentalism was also held.

Panelists discussed what they think is the largest environmental issue and what they think the prognosis is for the future. The problems mentioned ranged from the quality and quantity of water to the lack of resource-use restrictions in developing nations.

Karen Gaines, a professor in the biological sciences department, said a major issue was the lack of wildlife habitats.

“We’ve basically removed it all,” Gaines said.

Roger White, a visiting professor from Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada, explained a system that predicts how land will be used using data from different fields such as political science, economics, and geology. The land-use patterns were represented by different colors on a map.

Panelists also discussed how the different disciplines of science have difficulties working together.

White mentioned that a major obstacle was getting data from researchers in different fields who only care about individual projects.

But White wasn’t the only person to mention that researchers in different disciplines don’t often interact.

Peter Frey, a graduate student in biological science, said that interacting with other disciplines isn’t encouraged enough but could be beneficial. He compared the situation to how a high-flying bird and a grasshopper will have different perspectives even if they are looking at the same thing.

Those in attendance said the panel discussion was beneficial.

“It was good to kind of hear a couple of different perspectives,” said senior economics major Garrison Wood.

Josh Van Dyke can be reached at 581-7942 or jmvandyke@eiu.edu.