Petersheim Academic Exposition 2025 Celebrates Scholarship, Innovation and Transformation

Now in its 29th year, the 2025 Petersheim Academic Exposition, "Share, Honor, Unite," will take place from Tuesday, April 22, through Saturday, April 26, 2025.

This annual celebration honors scholastic achievement, creativity and engagement, innovation and transformation. Embracing Seton Hall’s learner-centered community, undergraduate and graduate students, alumni, faculty, administrators, staff and colleagues from throughout the higher education community gather among the various disciplines.

Throughout the exposition, participants are invited to explore the Seton Hall experience through research symposia, oral and poster presentations, panel discussions, theatrical performances, art exhibits, debates, conversations and concerns. They will also engage with distinguished scholars. The exposition honors the innovative spirit of the late Matthew Petersheim, Ph.D., associate professor of chemistry, who passed away in 1998.

This year’s exposition will be held in a hybrid format, featuring events both in person and virtually through livestream or Microsoft Teams.

[View the 2025 schedule of events here.]

“This week-long celebration provides a perfect opportunity for our students and faculty to gather together from every field and engage as a University community within and between their disciplines. We come together in the spirit of servant leadership and what Great Minds can do,” said Distinguished University Research Professor Sulie Lin Chang, Petersheim co-chair and director of the Institute of NeuroImmune Pharmacology.

Abstract Deadline Extended
Interested in being a part of the University community’s annual celebration of scholastic accomplishments? It is not too late to participate. The abstract submission deadline has been extended to Friday, April 11.

A Commitment to Research and Excellence
The University community is invited to the Petersheim Academic Expo Opening Ceremony from noon to 2 p.m., Tuesday, April 22, in Bethany Hall, Rooms B and C, which will officially launch the exposition.

Monsignor Reilly will present the keynote address. Participants will receive a complimentary lunch, however, pre-registration is required.

The event is sponsored by:

• Office of the Provost
• Division of Student Services
• College of Arts and Sciences
• The Institute of NeuroImmune Pharmacology

Those unable to attend in person can watch the livestream of the opening ceremony and keynote address.

The Closing Celebration and Awards Ceremony will be held from 3:30 to 5 p.m., Friday, April 25, in the McNulty Amphitheater. The event will feature an address from alumna Isabella Duarte, valedictorian for the Class of 2015 and assistant professor of medical physics in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Grossman School of Medicine at New York University. Those unable to attend in person can watch the livestream.

A Gathering of Great Minds
There will be more than 100 students and faculty members presenting at various events throughout the exposition, with more events being added daily. A sampling of key events includes:

• A day dedicated to celebrating William Shakespeare and his works. 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., Tuesday, April 22, in the University Center, Event Lounge.
• The third annual Undergraduate English Literature Conference, where undergraduates from Seton Hall and other universities in the tri-state area will present completed or in-progress research in English literature. The conference will also feature a keynote address by Anna Kornbluh, professor of English at the University of Illinois Chicago. 9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Friday, April 25, in Muscarelle Hall, Rooms 109, 110 and 111.
• Professor Hyun-Woo Rhee, a distinguished researcher in mitochondrial biology, chemical biology and proteomics at Seoul National University, will present a keynote address at the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Symposium. 5:45 – 7 p.m., Tuesday, April 22, in McNulty Hall, Room 101.
• The 21st annual "Anthropology in the Real World" project will showcase student research. This year, four students will present posters in biological anthropology (funded by a University Research Council Grant under Professor Jessica Dimka) and ethnographic projects in linguistic anthropology (under Professor Cherubim Quizon). 3:30 – 5 p.m., Wednesday, April 23, in Jubilee Hall, Rooms 570 and 561.
• Distinguished scholar, educator and career bioinformatics and database researcher Katherine G. Herbet-Berger will deliver the annual Charles H. Franke Memorial Lecture during Department of Mathematics and Computer Science Petersheim Day. A member of the Montclair University faculty since 2004, she serves as director of the New Jersey Department of Education Northern New Jersey Montclair State University Computer Science Education Hub and associate director of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Center for Science Teaching and Learning Professional Resources in Science and Mathematics. 1:15 – 4 p.m., Friday, April 25, in Arts and Sciences Hall, Rooms 109 and 110.
• The Interprofessional Health Sciences Campus Research Symposium will feature faculty and students sharing their scholarly endeavors through structured activities throughout the week. Those unable to attend in person can join via Microsoft Teams.
• Early Career Investigators from the Institute of NeuroImmune Pharmacology Research and the JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research in India entered into a Memorandum of Understanding and developed an integrated framework to combine data-driven discovery with hypothesis-testing investigations to advance research on COVID-19 pathologies. Professor Saravana Babu Chidambaram, JSS Academy, will present the keynote address at the INIP Research Symposium. 5 – 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 22, in the University Center Meeting Room, Room 206.
• Seton Hall’s Catholic Social Thought in Action Academy, Catholic Studies Program, Division of Volunteer Efforts and Department of Social Work and Public Administration will share experiences from Catholic Social Thought in Action Academy and Division of Volunteer Efforts service trips and service-learning courses. The panel will include Professors Dawn Apgar and Anthony Nicotera, along with student leaders. 12:30 – 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 23, in the University Center, Room 206.
• Several University 2024 Researchers of the Year will discuss the research for which they were recognized and their strategies for sustaining research agendas while balancing faculty responsibilities. Panelists include: Fanli Jia, associate professor of psychology; Sina Shokoohyar, assistant professor of computing and decision sciences; Benjamin Goldfrank, professor of diplomacy and international relations; Rong Chen, associate professor and director of higher education programs; Leslie A. Rippon, associate professor of sociology. The event will be held from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., Thursday, April 24, on Teams.
• The Office of Grants and Research Services (OGRS) Faculty Research Showcase will provide faculty members an opportunity to share their research with their peers, students and staff. 9 a.m. – noon; 2 – 5 p.m., Wednesday, April 23, in Walsh Library, Silent Study Room.

“The Petersheim Academic Expo illustrates our University-wide commitment to research and scholarship. The addresses by Monsignor Reilly and alumna and former Petersheim scholar Isabella Duarte promise to be wonderful examples of an exciting learning-centered week of academic accomplishment that will bring us together in celebration with our entire community,” said Jose L. Lopez, professor of physics, director of the Office of Grants and Research Services and Petersheim Academic Expo Planning Committee co-chair.

For more information, please visit the Petersheim Academic Exposition website and check regularly for updates to the schedule of events.

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