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American Public University System Holds 'Research for the Public Good Conference'

The 2021 ResearchFest Commemorates APUS’ 30th Anniversary with a Virtual Event Highlighting Research from Faculty, Staff, and Students

Charles Town, WV—December 9, 2021 –  As part of an ongoing 30th anniversary commemoration, American Public University System (APUS) recently hosted its 2021 ResearchFest, titled ‘Research for the Public Good’. The four-day virtual event, held from October 25-29, showcased faculty, staff, and student research across disciplines and a variety of formats to encourage collaboration among APUS scholars. The 2021 ResearchFest ‘Research for the Public Good’ theme stems from the university’s historic dedication to helping learners of all backgrounds through teaching and research endeavors.

ResearchFest contributions included on-demand presentations and lightning talks that can now be accessed online. Also featured were live panel presentations, a poster gallery, and ‘The Buzz’—an interactive brainstorming conversation with peers to discuss research ideas and collaboration.

ResearchFest also hosted The Lightning Talk Competition—where APUS students presented ‘elevator pitches’ of research topics. The 2021 Lightning Talk Competition winners included students Kenneth Lindbloom in first place, with the topic of “Retaining Medical Skills for Injured Search and Rescue Canines, and runner-up Chelsea Adams, with “Emergency Preparedness Guide for Colorado Springs, Colo.: Military Edition”. An entry from Storm Young was selected as the ‘People’s Choice’ winner, on the “Important Rules of Professional Responsibility.”

In a video launch for the event, Dr. Vernon C. Smith, APUS Provost, stated: “We believe the intellectual and scholarly work we create as a university contributes to the public good by adding knowledge, especially in fields that are critical to national security and public service. At APUS we value the scholar-practitioner model, where our faculty bring both academic experience and field experience to the classroom. Our scholarly work has unique applications of research to tangible problems in the world today.”

To view ResearchFest video presentations visit here.

Faculty contributions to the event spanned multiple disciplines to address today’s pressing issues. Science professor Dr. Kristen Miller covered “The APUS Optical Telescope: Upgrades and Research Initiatives,” and shared background on the ongoing APUS Supernova Search Program, a research program designed and run by APUS Master’s students. Together, they observed a core group of galaxies in search of supernova events. Dr. Kathryn Lambert, a homeland security professor, covered “International NGOs in Afghanistan: The Impact of Organizational Attributes and Activities on Vulnerability to Attack”. With the topic of “Visualizing Trending Twitter Topics Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Dr. Emily Fogarty used visualization methodology to show sentiment around pandemic-related topics, and how they connect across networks.

About American Public University System

About American Public University System American Public University System, recipient of the Online Learning Consortium’s (OLC) Gomory Award for Quality Online Education and five-time recipient of OLC’s Effective Practice Award, offers more than 200 online degree and certificate programs through American Military University, the #1 provider of higher education to the U.S. military and veterans,* and American Public University. Approximately 110,000 alumni worldwide have benefited from APUS’s accessible, relevant curriculum and flexible online delivery model. APUS is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Public Education, Inc. (Nasdaq: APEI). For more information, visit www.apus.edu.

*Based on FY 2019 Department of Defense tuition assistance and Veterans Administration student enrollment data, as reported by Military Times, 2020.

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