The seventh Graduate College Spark! Symposium, themed “Within and Beyond Our Senses: Art, Exploration and Sustainability,” showcased diverse endeavors, from underwater exploration off Antarctica to studying old masters' techniques in Italy. These pursuits were united by the sense of awe and wonder experienced in moments of discovery.

Led by the Graduate College’s Suprawee Tepsuporn, senior assistant dean for graduate professional development, and Johanna Voznak, program coordinator, the biannual Spark! Symposium supports UD graduate students and postdocs in developing cross-disciplinary communication skills.

“I’ve truly enjoyed coaching our presenters over the past several weeks,” Tepsuporn said. “It was a pleasure to learn about their research and creative projects while supporting them in strengthening their communication skills. Everyone put in a great deal of effort, and their contributions made the symposium especially meaningful — particularly through the artwork and research specimens they provided for the exhibit during the program.”

Ignite Award

Ted Egnaczyk, a doctoral student in chemical and biomolecular engineering, received the Ignite Award from the event’s three-judge panel for his work on creating materials for space. His talk, “Designing Lunar Construction Materials: Experiments on the International Space Station,” detailed how he prepared geopolymers from local clays and lunar soil samples for a NASA mission. These materials, currently tested on the International Space Station, could potentially be used for building structures on the moon using lunar regolith.

Egnaczyk, acknowledging his collaborators, William Hartt and Jake George, explained, “We currently have four different compositions of lunar regolith simulant cements on the station. When they are returned to us after about six months, we'll be able to see if the materials have gotten stronger or weaker, or if there have been any chemical changes. This could help prove the efficacy of these materials for future construction on the moon, and in space.”

Glow Award

Tiziana Capizzi, a doctoral student in art history and a recipient of the University Graduate Scholars Award, was selected by audience vote for the Glow Award for her talk, “Jasmine or Lotus: Foot-binding in Colonial South America Art.” She conveyed her astonishment upon discovering visual evidence of foot-binding in 18th-century South American art, a practice that had been lost to history, while researching corsetry in colonial Lima, Peru. 

“I was looking for evidence of corsetry and stays in these paintings,” Capizzi said. “But when I saw the toes peeking out from under women’s skirts, I realized what I was seeing. It was amazing to understand what the result of this practice looked like, since it only existed for a short time and was out of fashion by the 1800s.”

The awe in representing our world and ourselves

Rebecca Giles, a master’s student in fine arts and a recipient of the University Graduate Scholars Award, introduced the concept of the "sublime" during the evening's program. She referenced philosopher Edmund Burke's definition of the sublime, which describes the awe inspired by the vast and infinite. Giles argued that the sublime could also be inspired by what is "overwhelmingly small," showcasing her works based on plant cells viewed through a microscope. Her media ranges from embroidery to vibrant neon LED rope lights, traditional oil paintings and paintings on plexiglass mounted on light boxes.

“I love the glowing colors that you see when you hold a translucent leaf to the light and the small details that you find. To me, it’s like stained glass,” Giles said.

Abigail Dudley, also a master’s student in fine arts and a recipient of the University Graduate Scholars Award, found revelations in intricate details while attending a Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts program in Italy. She noted that features and figures had stylized details meant to convey deeper meanings about the person to the viewer. 

“I started to see that representational painting is more than depicting a scene,” Dudley shared. “It constructs meaning and shows where worth is placed by individuals and society.” Her current work in oil focuses on conveying identity through portraiture.

Marvels of technology in the service of sustainability

Pravesh Raghoo, a doctoral student in energy and environmental policy, discussed the potential of an app to facilitate individual buying and selling within energy-independent communities. In his talk, “Power to the People: Reimagining Energy Systems with Peer-to-Peer Trading,” Raghoo detailed his findings on three types of participant behavior in renewable energy trading, emphasizing the importance of models that foster trust and community rather than merely focusing on transactions.

“It’s not just about moving electrons,” he said. “It’s about understanding people.”

Frederike Benz, a doctoral student in physical ocean science and engineering and a recipient of the Unidel Fellowship, discussed technology used to study the convergence of warm and cold ocean waters in her presentation, “Exploring Antarctica’s Coastal Ocean with Underwater Robots.” Her research journey led her to Punta Arenas, Chile, and across the Drake Passage, to gather data off the Antarctic Peninsula, where cold coastal waters converge with warm ocean waters. 

“I have fallen in love with sailing in polar waters. These environments are magical,” she remarked. “We must understand how warm and cold coastal shelves interact to grasp what will drive sea level rise as the oceans warm.”

Research at UD that enriches lives and drives progress

The Spark! Symposium talks underscored how research at UD is pushing the boundaries of and fostering a deeper understanding of our world. LaRuth McAfee, senior assistant dean for recruitment and retention in the Graduate College, noted, “I was pleased to see how many of these speakers are benefiting from our Unidel Fellowships and University Graduate Scholar Awards. These fellowships and assistantships are designed to help students focus on their studies and research, promoting academic excellence and professional development.”

Judges for the Spark! Symposium included Michael Vaughan, vice provost for equity, University of Delaware; Tracey Bryant, senior director, research communications, University of Delaware; and Guarav Shah, global marketing manager, Iron Mountain.