The Mississippi Emerging Research Institutions Consortium (MERIC) hosted its first One-Day Conference at Millsaps College, bringing together approximately 160 faculty, undergraduate students, and graduate students representing 14 institutions from across Mississippi.
Established in 2025, MERIC seeks to strengthen scholarship, collaboration, and networking among Mississippi’s emerging research institutions. The strong participation in the inaugural conference marked an important milestone for the growing consortium and demonstrated enthusiasm for increased research connections among institutions across the state.
More than 100 undergraduate and graduate students participated in the conference. Throughout the day, students and faculty shared their scholarship through oral and poster presentations spanning a variety of disciplines. The poster sessions provided an especially active setting for attendees to discuss ongoing research, exchange ideas, and build connections with researchers from other Mississippi institutions.
In addition to research presentations, the conference featured three concurrent professional development workshops designed for attendees at different stages of their academic careers. Tristan Clemons, Assistant Professor in the School of Polymer Science and Engineering at the University of Southern Mississippi, led “The Elite Mindset: Leading High-Performing Research Teams,” a session designed for faculty at primarily undergraduate and emerging research institutions. Alex Flynt, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Mississippi, presented “Accessing Different Career Paths with your Degree” for current graduate students. Brandon Magers, Professor and Chair of Chemistry and Physics at Belhaven University, led “Decoding Grad School,” which included a virtual graduate student panel and was designed to help undergraduate students better understand graduate education and the graduate-school experience.
The conference also provided opportunities for participants to connect informally throughout the day, furthering MERIC’s goal of developing a stronger network of researchers and scholars across Mississippi institutions.
MERIC thanks Millsaps College for hosting the inaugural conference. Lunch was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. OIA-2433435 through the Mississippi Research Alliance. Door prizes and conference stamp cards were sponsored by Belhaven University’s American Chemical Society Student Chapter.
The success of the first MERIC One-Day Conference provides a strong foundation for continued collaboration among Mississippi’s emerging research institutions and for future opportunities to connect faculty and students through research, professional development, and shared scholarship.
