Radiolab Host and Producer to Serve as Keynote Speaker at VCU’s Student Research Week

By Sathya Achia Abraham

Jad Abumrad, radio host and creator of the nationally syndicated program Radiolab, will be the keynote speaker at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Student Research Week, which runs from April 23 to April 27.

The kickoff lecture with Abumrad is Monday, April 23, from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., Commonwealth Theater, VCU Student Commons, 907 Floyd Ave.

Abumrad, a 2011 MacArthur Fellow, is widely known for engaging audio explorations of scientific and philosophical questions. Through a combination of cutting-edge sound design, cinematic storytelling and a personal approach, he explains complex topics from the “stochasticity of tumor cells to the mathematics of mortality.”

During his visit to VCU, Abumrad will discuss the process of discovery and creation – the fear and awe of it all - and offer advice for rising researchers and creative minds.

Through Radiolab, Abumrad has reached a “new generation of listeners with audio explorations of scientific and philosophical questions that recreate the thrill of discovery,” according to a release by the MacArthur Foundation. Radiolab, through which Abumrad reaches nearly 2 million people each month, received a 2011 Peabody Award – the highest honor in broadcasting.

Abumrad studied creative writing and music composition at Oberlin College in Ohio and went on to write music for films before reporting and producing documentaries for local and national public radio programs. Programs included “On the Media,” “PRI’s Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen” and “All Things Considered.”

VCU’s second annual Student Research Week brings together undergraduate and graduate students from across disciplines to celebrate research and creative and scholarly projects. During the week-long event, undergraduate and graduate students will present overviews of their current projects, theses or dissertations.

These projects span many academic disciplines, including the College of Humanities & Sciences and the schools of Allied Health Professions, Arts, Business, Education, Engineering, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Social Work and Interdisciplinary Studies. Students will be available to demonstrate and discuss their projects.

There also will be a forum in which current student researchers, faculty mentors and VCU alumni will discuss their research endeavors and careers.

The keynote address is sponsored by the VCU Office of Research; the VCU Science, Technology and Society Program; and the Science Museum of Virginia.