Earlier this fall, the MSU Museum announced the launch of Ignite Talks MSU, a one-of-a-kind public program designed to captivate and inspire attendees through a series of dynamic and fast-paced presentations. The inaugural event took place on November 9, 2023, at the RCAH (Residential College in the Arts and Humanities) Theater, located in Snyder-Phillips Residence Hall.

The MSU Museum plans to host Ignite Talks MSU twice each academic year; once during the fall semester and once during the spring semester. Ignite Talks MSU is an innovative platform that aims to connect audiences with creative and passionate MSU student researchers who share their ideas, stories, and expertise in a concise and impactful format. What sets Ignite Talks apart from traditional speaking events is its fast-paced nature. Each of the nine selected MSU students presenting their topic will have just five minutes to convey their idea, using 20 slides that automatically advance every 15 seconds.

In the spring of 2023, the MSU Museum launched Ignite Talks MSU by initiating an open call for MSU students to submit their ideas for a talk. Students from a wide array of fields were encouraged to apply, spanning the arts, sciences, technologies, and more. Out of the 31 students who submitted their ideas, nine outstanding students were selected to present their talks at the inaugural event. These included:

• Less Code, More Change: Justice-Centered Computing Education in K-12, Anne Drew Hu (they/them/theirs) / College of Education, Educational Psychology and Educational Technology
• Creating Tools to Help Breed Fast-Cooking Dry Beans, Hannah Jeffery (she/her/hers) / College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Crop and Soil Sciences
• Qualitative Evidence Synthesis for Indigenous Health Research, Ceco Maples (he/him/his) / College of Social Science, Anthropology
• Bouncing Back from the Brink: Secrets of Resurrection Plants, Cathy Mercado (she/her/hers) / College of Natural Science, Plant Biology
• Exploring culture’s impact on identity and affiliation, Shahad Nasir (she/her/hers) / College of Natural Science, Sociology and Psychology
• The Thinking of Thinking, Alva Nguyen (he/him/his) / College of Communication Arts and Sciences, Media and Information
• Insects can smell bacteria, Mariam Shahab (she/her/hers) / College of Engineering, Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering
• Growing Mini Human Hearts from Stem Cells, Brett Volmert (he/him/his) / College of Engineering, Biomedical Engineering
• Truffles, Trees, & Tree-nuts, Oh My! A Tale of Sustainable Ag, Dylan Warner (he/him/his) / College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences