On Thursday the Hampden-Sydney College/Longwood University chapter of Sigma Xi, the international honorary scientific research society, will host its third annual research symposium.

This society was founded in 1886 to honor excellence in scientific investigation and to encourage collaboration among researchers in all fields of science and engineering. There are now over 500 chapters at academic, industrial, and government research institutions, with nearly 60,000 members in more than 100 countries around the world. 

The Longwood University/Hampden-Sydney College chapter was reactivated in 2013, and the two institutions now alternate hosting the annual symposium, which features a keynote speaker and student poster presentations highlighting recent research activities on both campuses.

This year’s keynote speaker, Dr. Lee Dugatkin, Sigma Xi Distinguished Lecturer and Professor of Biology from the University of Louisville, will give a talk entitled “Mr. Jefferson and the Giant Moose: When Natural History and History Collide.” Dr. Dugatkin is a leading expert in the evolution of social behavior, and his major research focus lies in the evolution of cooperation, the evolution of aggression, the interaction between genetic and cultural evolution, the evolution of antibiotic resistance and the evolution of risk-taking behavior. 

This symposium is sponsored by the H-SC Lectures and Programs Committee. The lecture will begin at 4:15 p.m. in Crawley Forum and will be followed by a student poster session with participants from both schools from 5:30-7 p.m. Refreshments will be available during the poster session.