The 2025 Minnesota Space Grant Student Symposium featured 12 contributed talks, 22 posters, and demonstrations by several student groups.
The symposium took place at Tate Hall of Physics on the University of Minnesota Minneapolis campus on Saturday, February 22, 2025, with three presentation sessions, two poster sessions, one demonstration session, and a keynote talk.
Students who received NASA Center Internships in the summer of 2024 and students who did MnSGC centrally-funded in-state internships exhibited during the poster sessions, along with students who did projects on their own campuses.
MnSGC Intercollegiate Challenge featured demonstrations of NASA-related outreach activities developed for college and adult audiences.
NASA Research Center Internships included students from St. Olaf College, University of St. Thomas, and University of Minnesota Twin Cities.
The Intercollegiate Challenge and Outreach demonstrations of NASA-related outreach activities developed for college and adult audiences were provided by teams from Macalester College and the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.
The Symposium 2025 Book of Abstracts is available as a PDF download.
Presentations, posters, and demonstrations included students from:
Augsburg University, Bethel University, Bemidji State University, Concordia College, Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, Leech Lake Tribal College, Macalester College, St. Catherine University, St. Cloud State University, St. Olaf College, University of Minnesota Duluth, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, University of St. Thomas
Pictures from the presentations, poster sessions, and demonstrations can be found in the Symposium Photo Gallery.
University of Minnesota Professor Jim Kakalios, Ph.D., gave the keynote talk on “The Physics of Superheroes,” which is also the title of his first book. He is also the author of The Amazing Story of Quantum Mechanics and The Physics of Everyday Things.
Dr. Kakalios discussed the super powers of comic book superheroes, including Superman’s ability to leap tall buildings “in a single bound” and what that would imply about gravity on Superman’s home planet of Krypton.
Dr. Kakalios received his Bachelor of Science degree from City University of New York in 1979 and his Masters degree in 1982 and his Ph.D. degree in 1985 from the University of Chicago. Dr. Kakalios is currently Professor and Head of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities School of Physics and Astronomy.
Dr. Kakalios made a video in 2009 with the University News Service on “The Science of Watchmen” that won a regional Emmy Award in the “Advanced Media: Arts and Entertainment” category.
