Research Mixer Successful

By Staff Editorial     10/21/10 7:00pm

The Thresher would like to commend the joint efforts of the Student Association and Graduate Student Association in hosting the first annual Research Mixer earlier this month. As an institution known internationally for our focus on undergraduate research, it's a wonder that Rice hasn't already developed more events like this one (see story, page 6).It was refreshing to see an even distribution of disciplines represented among the research groups, rather than the typical asymmetry frequently exhibited by career fairs and other recruiting endeavors. While it would be nice to imagine all majors could be represente at the mixer, 40 lab groups is nothing to scoff at.

Furthermore, the decision by the Office of the Dean of Undergraduates and Dean of Graduates to fund the mixer underscores a commitment to student initiatives that has been lacking in the past.

We hope this event continues to expand in coming years to encourage more communication between undergraduates, graduates and faculty. The turnout by both students and research groups was promising and the response overwhelmingly positive. Of course, several thousand dollars worth of Thai food never hurts.

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