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Student Research, Creativity on Full Display at Verna Case Symposium

May 12, 2025

Authors
Mary Elizabeth DeAngelis & Jay Pfeifer
a group of students perform music in front of a columned academic building on a sunny day

Over the past year, Davidson College students have built a solar-powered boat, filmed a documentary, created paintings, photography and music, researched the human brain and studied plant life.

They’ve immersed themselves in digital studies, literature, history, natural sciences, languages, physics and philosophy. 

On Thursday, May 8, with the semester coming to an end, the college community gathered to check out their work at the annual Verna Miller Case Research and Creative Works Symposium. 

The symposium spotlighted a multitude of student projects, with just about every corner of campus featuring posters, live music and presentations. At lunchtime, students, faculty, staff and visitors flocked to Richardson Plaza to share a meal and camaraderie. 

And the day-long event, as always, ended with cake. 

two young Black men dance on a stage

Students jump started the day with a dance inspired by Ozou Feray, the Haitian god of fire and iron.

a young man presents research to a young woman in front of a poster
A student explains her research poster on virtual reality brain rehabilitation to a small group inside an academic building.
Two smiling male students in blue polo shirts stand proudly beside their solar boat project display titled "Powering the Solar Boat: Electronics and Testing," showcasing their engineering work under a small shelter with campus buildings visible in the background.

Henry Russell ’26 and Phillip Mann ’27 gave a mothballed pontoon boat a 21st-century makeover, adding solar panels, batteries and an electric motor. 

two young men dance on a stage outside of an academic building on a sunny day
a group of students play instruments outside on a sunny day
two young women sing into a microphone together while an older man sings behind them
A student conductor in a white t-shirt directs a string orchestra performing outdoors on a sunny day on a college campus quad, with musicians reading from sheet music on stands and an audience of students watching from tables and chairs arranged on the lawn.

Davidson faculty, staff and students made music all day long. Student conductors who had practiced all semester in “MUS 312” got their chance to shine as they led the student orchestra in an early afternoon performance. 

an older woman and a younger woman sing into microphones on an outdoor stage on a sunny day

Shelley Rigger, vice president of academic affairs and dean of faculty, took the stage to lead the student-faculty band Davidson Local for one of the group’s Davidson-centric originals. 

a group of four students smile together in a group outside on a sunny day
Two female students dance joyfully on a grassy lawn near a campus performance space where musicians with guitars and other instruments play on a small stage in the background
A group of seven smiling students stands together outdoors on a sunny day during a campus event.
A triumphant student in a beige polo shirt raises a red trophy box overhead while celebrating victory at the 2025 Davidson Physics Gravity Race, with a tournament bracket visible on a whiteboard behind him and fellow students and faculty looking on
a group of students and their professor gather in front of an academic building holding a trophy and smiling
A diverse group of enthusiastic college students with expressions of excitement and surprise gather outside a brick campus building, some wearing university apparel and taking photos, as they react energetically to something happening off-camera

The Davidson physics gravity race, an annual highlight of the symposium, thrilled competitors and onlookers with close finishes. 

Seen on Social: The Coolest Thing I Saw...

Members of the Davidson College community shared the coolest projects they saw during this year's Verna Miller Case Research and Creative Works Symposium.

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