On November 11 in Raleigh, North Carolina, the Scientific Research Honor Society Sigma Xi hosted their 17th Annual Student Research Conference.  Sigma Xi is known for being one of world's largest multidisciplinary honor society for scientists and engineers.  At the conference there were approximately 135 students, from high school to graduate levels, who participated in poster presentation competitions, workshops, panel discussions and oral presentations. 

GEO graduate student Rachel Harris was selected as the top graduate presenter in the category of Microbiology and Molecular Biology.  Harris is a fourth year Ph.D. student with special interests in biogeochemical cycling, with special emphasis on evolution and habitability on early Earth and Mars special regions.  She is a member of the Geomicrobiology Lab at Guyot Hall. Harris, already a member of Sigma Xi prior to the conference (nominated during her senior year at Wellesley College), will receive a medal and a small monetary award, in addition to having her dues waived for the next fiscal year.

GS Rachel Harris with CEO Jamie Vernon and President Stuart Cooper.

GS Rachel Harris (second-left in front row) in a group photo of all division winners.