Hannah Donovan to Deliver Research Days Keynote

Research Days at Kean University is an annual celebration of student and faculty research and creative endeavors. Since its inception in 2009, the number of students presenting at Research Days has increased from 90 to a record-breaking 485. Hannah Donovan, a product and design leader and entrepreneur based in Brooklyn, will deliver this year’s Research Days keynote address at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 25 in Kean University’s STEM building, 1075 Morris Ave., Union, N.J.

“Kean students have been increasingly engaged in research and creative projects, opening doors to pursue professional and graduate study and satisfying careers,” said Kean University Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Jeffrey Toney, Ph.D.

During Research Days, Kean recognizes significant research achievements through the Faculty Research Mentor of the Year and Undergraduate Student Researcher of the Year awards. This year’s Undergraduate Student Researcher of the Year is Sustainability Science major Naomi Horowitz. Naomi, a Kean University senior, will present her research on Wednesday, April 26 and will receive a monetary award and certificate of achievement during Research Days. 

Naomi worked on multiple research projects while maintaining a 4.0 GPA, placing her in the top 1% of students at Kean. In the summer of 2016, Naomi traveled to Central China Normal University to study the water quality at local farms. Naomi collected and tested water samples, comparing monoculture and polyculture farming techniques as one of her research objectives. Naomi’s work has been published in a professional journal and she has two research manuscripts in progress.

This year’s Faculty Research Mentor of the Year Award goes to Juan Li, Ph.D. Li’s one-on-one research mentoring which has led to ten research publications co-authored with undergraduate students. Li’s research team was selected for the prestigious Council for Undergraduate Education’s Posters-on-the-Hill event in 2016, where Kean student, Yulia Rossikova, received the award for Best Student Research. Yulia’s work was selected from among over 100 nationwide submissions. In 2017, Dr. Li worked with Kean undergraduates to establish a local chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery – Women (ACM-W). 

Research Days showcases the breadth and diversity of the research happening at Kean. Local high school teachers are invited to bring their classes. To learn more about this year’s event and view the complete schedule visit http://research.kean.edu/.