49th Annual Albert L. Tester Memorial Symposium
April 9-11, 2025
The 2025 Tester Symposium Logo. Original artwork by Kai Smart.
The 49th Annual Albert L. Tester Memorial Symposium will be held April 9-11, 2025 in the Information Technology Center Room 105. The three-day event will include student presentations, a poster session, and a subsequent soirée. Oral presentations will consist of either 5-minute rapid-fire talks or full-length 12-minute presentations. There will also be a poster session held on the afternoon of Wednesday April 9th at the MSB and HIG open areas (first floor lanai and courtyard).
This year’s theme, Hoʻokele ʻIke: Navigating Knowledge in Life Sciences, draws inspiration from the art of navigation and the journey of discovery in the life sciences. Rooted in the Hawaiian concept of wayfinding, this theme highlights the importance of integrating diverse knowledge systems, disciplines, and methodologies to chart innovative paths in scientific research. By navigating with both traditional and modern tools, researchers can illuminate connections between community, culture, and science, fostering a shared vision for a sustainable future.
Abstract Submissions Are Now OPEN!
Due March 7th, 2025
Submit abstracts here: https://forms.gle/uE16PzhC6MfoUsn87
Abstracts are currently being accepted. We will email presenters with the accepted presentation types and the day-of schedule after the submission period is closed. Please contact us (testerms@hawaii.edu) if you have any questions about submission.
This year’s Tester Symposium will have the following participation styles:
– 5-minute rapid-fire presentation (proposal, research, outreach)
– 12-minute oral presentation (proposal, research)
– Poster presentation (proposal, research, outreach) on Wednesday, April 9, 2025
The Best Paper/Presentation Award, which can only be awarded to graduate students doing 12-minute oral presentations, comes with a $1,000 prize and the responsibility of organizing next year’s symposium.
Commitment to a Safe, Inclusive, and Accessible Event
The 49th Annual Albert L. Tester Memorial Symposium is committed to organizing and hosting a safe, inclusive, and accessible research symposium on the UH Manoa Campus. It is our goal that every person who participates in the symposium and related events feels supported and free from any harassment or discrimination. To that end, everyone who participates in the Tester Symposium, in person and virtually, is expected to conform to the Code of Conduct included below. The link below also has instructions for reporting an incident if needed.
Additionally, we are committed to making this event as accessible as possible. The symposium will be held in-person on the first floor of the Information Technology Center, which is wheelchair/scooter accessible with accessible restrooms, and virtually via Zoom.
Code of Conduct
Registered attendees: You are subjected to our Code of Conduct if you are participating in person or in zoom. Read our Code of Conduct before joining the symposium.
Want to submit a concern pertaining to the Code of Conduct?
You can submit a concern to the School of Life Sciences using this reporting form.
Other important resources:
Campus Department of Public Safety: (808) 956-9293
Title IX and the Office of Institutional Equity (OIE): https://www.hawaii.edu/titleix/
To report a sex discrimination or gender-based violence related incidence: https://report.system.hawaii.edu/student
History of Tester Memorial Symposium
The Albert L. Tester Memorial Symposium is held in honor of Professor Albert Tester who, at the time of his death in 1974, was Senior Professor of Zoology at the University of Hawaii. The faculty and students of the Department of Zoology proposed an annual symposium of student research papers as a means of honoring and continuing Dr. Tester’s lively encouragement of student research in a broad range of fields within biology. Today the Tester Memorial Symposium welcomes research from any scientific field.
Oral presentations and posters reporting original research on any aspect of science are solicited from students at the University to be presented at the Symposium each spring semester. Income from contributions to the Albert L. Tester Memorial Fund of the University of Hawaii Foundation is used to provide prizes for the three papers (15-minute talks), judged on quality, originality, and importance of research reported, as well as the quality of the public presentation. Judges include faculty members and the previous year’s student award winners. In addition, distinguished scholars are invited to participate in the Symposium and to present keynote addresses.
Past events here.