GS4 is Georgia Southern’s annual ‘Student Scholars Symposium.’ At GS4, held on April 21 on the Armstrong Campus, undergraduate and graduate student researchers shared their scholarly work with peers, GSU faculty and professionals. Students presented nearly 90 research projects of various topics both orally and on poster boards.
In their research, computer science majors Coleman Zittrouer, Drake Cole, Bao Pham and Windy Pham emphasized the importance of accurately forecasting the levels of small particles that pollute the air — scientifically known as particulate matter or PM2.5 — as these particles have been linked to serious health risks. The goal of their research was to process data from environmental sensors and compare different computer models for forecasting PM2.5 levels.
“Prevention is so infrequently tackled with disease, like cancer and such, when overall prevention can be very effective,” said Cole.
Timiyah McIntosh, a political science major with a minor in psychology, focused her research around how sexual violence has lead to the emergence of worldwide movements such as the ‘#MeToo’ Movement, started in the United States and the Nirbhaya Movement, started in India.
“I feel like this is a way for me to be able to show and teach college students and professors who are here that things are not just American-based. It’s happening everywhere,” said McIntosh.
After two hours of presentations, researchers and guests gathered as Dr. Brent Feske, the associate vice president for research in the Office of Research and Economic Development, welcomed everyone to the event. Dr. Feske announced that in 2025, Georgia Southern reached a record-breaking 797 scholarly publications and surpassed $49 million in total research expenditures.
“These numbers matter, but more importantly, they tell a story. They tell a story about research momentum,” said Dr. Feske.
After Dr. Feske, Dr. Avinandan “Avi” Mukherjee, the provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, thanked the event’s contributors and shared that this was Georgia Southern’s largest GS4 ever.
“This is more than a symposium. In my opinion, it’s a showcase of the remarkable scholarly and creative work that we do as undergraduate and graduate students across every discipline at Georgia Southern,” said Dr. Mukherjee.
Dr. Mukherjee also announced that Georgia Southern “is on the cusp of becoming an R1 institution. We should get that designation next year.”
Dr. Tamas Havar, the event’s keynote speaker, spoke last. A principal engineer at Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation with more than 10 patents in the field of aerospace, Dr. Havar gave a lecture about the process of creating aircraft with 3D printing.
Georgia Southern has been recognized for having high research activity and is on track to advance to R1 status. Students who are interested in research can find information about opportunities on the Office of Research and Economic Development’s website.
