April 10, 2026 / 12:00-3:00pm ET -- 9:00am-12:00pm PT
2026 AESS Student Research Symposium
This student-focused multidisciplinary event provides a forum for students across the globe to present their original research.
NOTE: This is a separate event from the AESS Annual Conference; Poster submissions for the June conference can be submitted via aessconference.org. Students are welcome to participate in both events.
We invite you to apply to participate in this virtual, student research symposium hosted by the Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences (AESS) on Friday, April 10, 2026. The purpose of this student focused multidisciplinary event is to provide a forum for students across the globe to present their original research to the broader environmental community – that is, beyond their own university – and facilitate networking for future opportunities in research and practice.
The symposium now in its fourth year brings together graduate and undergraduate student researchers and faculty mentors from across the country and abroad, by providing a forum to disseminate research and scholarly activities in the form of oral and poster presentations in ALL academic disciplines relating to environmental studies and sciences. This symposium is being hosted by AESS to demonstrate research for the common good in higher education and beyond.
This event will take place in Zoom place online using zoom video conferencing and will include student poster presentations (5 minute oral summary and slides/visuals plus brief Q&A ) plus include multiple 30-minute professional development sessions to help participants understand AI applications in environmental science and studies and navigate the professional job market in ESS.
Submission portal will open through March 18, 11:59pm EST.
For Presenters
We ask that you
- Make clear the connection between your work and environmental studies or science;
- Clearly state how your work constitutes original research, for example through primary or secondary date collection and analysis or through exploratory work used to develop a research plan; and
- Keep your presentation to no more than 3-4 minutes in length. Each presenter will have a maximum of 4 minutes to present their work followed by a very brief (1-minute) Q&A, after which Q&A can continue via the zoom chat; and
- Include visuals to accompany your talk, which can be in the form of a single slide showing your poster, or several slides illustrating the key points of your talk (see the Symposium site for more details and tips).
Requirements for live presentations.
Live presentations should:
- Be no more than 3-4 minutes in length (4 minutes is the maximum!)
- Include visuals to accompany the talk, which can be in the form of a single slide showing your poster, or several slides illustrating the key points of your talk (see demonstration videos below for examples)
- Be enabled for screen sharing in Zoom – if you have never used the “share screen” feature, we recommend you practice this in advance to ensure this feature is enabled (it may require a change in your Zoom settings that allow for screen sharing)
** The Symposium presentations will NOT be recorded.
EDIT: with apologies, due to technical issues, there are no demos available to view for 2025. Please disregard previously emailed demo link.
Registration will remain open through April 9th. Those with accepted presentations should confirm their participation with Symposium Chairs and register as soon as possible.
Tips for Creating a Succinct and Clear Presentation
- Start with a brief statement of the problem that your research aims to address (or “solve”)
- Minimize “background” information – include only what is essential to understanding the research question(s)
- Clearly identify the research question(s) – if your work had multiple questions or parts, consider discussing only one or two in your presentation to reduce time and complexity
- Briefly discuss your methods in lay language so a non-expert audience with knowledge of ESS can understand
- State your results – focus on the key findings and explicitly answer your RQ(s)
- Briefly discuss the implications of your results and why they matter – if you have time, state the next steps in your work or what future work should do next to further understand or solve the problem
Organizers: Dr. Nataliya Apanovich and Dr. Laureen Elgert
Questions: email events@aessonline.org
