The Faculty Senate Early Career Academic Faculty Committee hosted its biannual Meet Future Collaborators Lightning Talks event Tuesday, Nov 13. The event was held from 4:30-6 p.m. in the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center's Knowledge Nook. It is an event designed to provide an opportunity for new faculty to share their current research with colleagues from around campus in a friendly environment.

Committee member and event coordinator Jennifer Mortensen, assistant professor of education, introduced the event and welcomed nearly 20 attendees.

This event featured five-minute research presentations from six early-career faculty members representing a variety of disciplines across the University:

• Mark Lescroart, assistant professor, Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts
  Presentation: Decoding brain activity
  
  
• Jessica Gallo, assistant professor of education - teacher education & human development in the College of Education
  Presentation: The literacies of board games
  
  
• Josette el Zaklit, assistant professor of electrical & biomedical engineering, Electrical and Biomedical Engineering Department, College of Engineering
  Presentation: Adrenal chromaffin cells - neuromodulation
  
  
• Teresa Schultz, librarian, University Libraries
  Presentation: Copyright and academic special collections
  
  
• Sarah Keyes, assistant professor of history, History Department, College of Liberal Arts
  Presentation: Scholarly communications
  
  
• Nasia Anam, assistant professor of global Anglophone and English literature, English Department, College of Liberal Arts
  Presentation: Literary representation of the urban Muslim migrant from the postcolonial to post-9/11 eras

Following the presentations, attendees had an opportunity to network and develop connections with other faculty. Light refreshments were served.

The Early Career Academic Faculty Committee, this year chaired by Roz Bucy, librarian for University Libraries, promotes the success of early career academic faculty, conducts studies on University practices, policies and procedures and makes recommendations to the senate and administration on matters that affect the welfare and success of Early Career Faculty.

The committee is open to recommendations for future speakers and will accept any observations, comments or suggestions for improving future events.

The next Lighting Talks event will be planned for the spring semester and scheduled soon.