General Information
10th Annual Lester Andrews Graduate Research Symposium
Due to COVID, Dr. Hawker’s presentation was postponed to LAGRS 2022.
This year’s conference will be held at the Union Ballroom at Colvard Student Union with the Keynote Lecture held in Bettersworth Auditorium in Lee Hall on the campus of Mississippi State University. The Colvard Student Union was built in 1964 under the leadership of Dr. Dean W. Colvard, the President of the University. Along with the LSU Union and the J. Wayne Reitz Union at the University of Florida, the Colvard Student Union was a state-of-the-art union in the Southeast. In response to steady growth in the student body and the number of student organizations, major expansion and renovation was made and the newly renovated building opened in early 2008. Lee Hall was built in 1909, named for Stephen Dill Lee, the first president of the university, and built in the Beaux Arts style. Lee was originally built to be an academic building as well as a chapel, and in its early years it served as the main administration building. Since then, it has been home to the Office of the President, English and Foreign Language departments, as well as the Student Counseling Center. In 1948 a fire broke out from the usage of tar by construction workers, which destroyed all of the fourth and most of the third floors. Repairs began almost immediately and was restored to its old form. Bettersworth Auditorium is housed in Lee Hall and regularly hosts international performers as part of the Lyceum Series and has over 1,000 seats.
Conference Locations
Conference Center Address:
Colvard Student Union
198 Lee Blvd
Mississippi State, MS 39762
P: (662) 325-3228
Conference Hotel
The Hilton Garden Inn is the conference hotel for the 2021 LAGRS event. The Group Code for a discount is “LAG”, rooms are available for May 8-10, and include a complimentary breakfast. This hotel is 2.6 miles from the Colvard Student Union, about an 8-minute drive. This hotel is conveniently located across from the Walmart Neighborhood Market for any of your needs. The Hilton Garden Inn offers free Wi-Fi, an on-site restaurant, a newly renovated indoor pool, fitness center, and other amenities.
Hilton Garden Inn
975 Highway 12 East
Starkville, MS 39759
(662) 615-9664
Banquet Address
Properties at 4300
4300 S Montgomery St.
Starkville, MS 39759
P: (601) 278-2379
Parking Information
Parking at the conference hotel is free. Visitor parking passes will be distributed to attendees who have driven to the symposium. Visitor’s parking passes allow you to park in any of the Residential or Commuter parking lots. In the following map we have indicated these parking lots in red. The area in red closest to Colvard Student Union is another parking option but will likely not have enough room for everyone to park there.
Conference Internet Access
Guests wishing to use the Internet during the conference are invited to join the “msuguest” wireless network. You will need to obtain the daily wireless guest password, which will be available at the registration table.
Sunday’s Registration and Poster Session
Registration starts 8:00 A.M. (CST) and will be accompanied by a morning brunch. The sessions will begin at 9:00 A.M. (CST) and will be held in the Union Ballroom, 2nd floor of the Colvard Student Union. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a limited number of attendees can be physically present for the session, any attendee overflow from this limit will be able to attend virtually from the Union Dawghouse on the 1st floor of Colvard Student Union. Lunch will be provided at noon. The poster session will be held in the Union Ballroom, 2nd floor of the Colvard Student Union at 4:00 P.M. (CST). After the poster session has ended, attendees are encouraged to continue networking and socializing. Here is a list of potential places to go after the poster session:
- Fountain Bar, 700 University Dr
- Dave’s Dark Horse Tavern, 410 Dr Martin Luther King Jr Dr E
- Cowbells Sports Grill, 1545 St Andrews Ln
- The Klaasroom, 701 University Dr
- Blue 22 Soul Kitchen & Bar, 101 Hollywood Blvd
- Rick’s Café American, 319B Hwy 182 E
- Southern Billiards, 103 S Washington St
- Bin 612, 612 University Dr
- Rosey Baby, 300 S Jackson St
- Strange Brew Coffeehouse, 605 MS-12
- Many More
Monday’s Keynote Lecture and Banquet
The Keynote Lecture by Dr. Craig Hawker will start at 4:00 P.M. (CST) and be held in the Bettersworth Auditorium, 2nd floor of Lee Hall. The Awards Banquet will start at 6:00 P.M. (CST) and be held off campus at the beautiful Properties at 4300.
Restaurants for lunch
Starkville has a wonderfully broad selection of local restaurants and eateries we encourage you to explore. Monday’s lunch is an on your own adventure, and to aid in this quest, we have provided a list of some of our favorite places to eat!
- Gustavo’s Choices: La Terraza, Rosey Baby, Mugshots
- Maitreyee’s Choices: La Terraza, Rosey Baby
- Abigail’s Choices: Bulldog Burger, Stromboli’s, Harvey’s
- Arma’s Choices: Bulldog Burger, Thai Siam
- Dr. Nettle’s Choices: Restaurant Tyler, The Veranda
- Dr. Dornshuld’s Choices: Rosey Baby’s, Little Dooeys, Kings Craft Butcher
Here is a further list to help you if none of the listed choices have sparked your fancy:
http://www.starkvillemenus.com/
Recording and Photography of Sessions and Posters
Collaboration and collegial discussion of unpublished data is encouraged at the LAGRS meeting, but private photography and recording of conference sessions is strictly prohibited. Attendees found to be recording sessions or photographing posters without the presenter’s consent will be asked to stop, and violators may be asked to leave at the discretion of the LAGRS board. A professional photographer is being hired to photograph this event for future advertisement purposes. If you take pictures at the conference of your friends, students, or speakers and upload them on social medias, please use #LAGRS2021 so we can see all of your awesome pictures!
Conference Web Page and Additional Information
Further information on this LAGRS and past LAGRS can be found at the following link: https://lagrs.chemistry.msstate.edu
Further information can be found on the Department of Chemistry’s website at the following link: https://www.chemistry.msstate.edu/outreach/lagrs/
For more information, please contact:
- Chemistry Graduate Student Association: Chem-CGSA (cgsa@chemistry.msstate.edu)
- CGSA President: Gustavo Munoz (gam318@msstate.edu)
- CGSA Vice-President: Maitreyee Rawat (mr2346@msstate.edu)
- CGSA Seretary: Abigail Ressler (ar2774@msstate.edu)
- CGSA Treasurer: Arma Regmi (ar2762@msstate.edu)
- CGSA Advisor: Dr. Whitnee Nettles (wnettles@chemistry.msstate.edu)
- SMACS Advisor and CGSA Consultant: Dr. Eric Dornshuld (edornshuld[at]chemistry{dot}msstate
edu) - Dept. of Chemistry Business Manager: Kathryn McTaggart (kmctaggart@chemistry.msstate.edu)
- Dept. of Chemistry Dept. Head: Dr. Dennis Smith (dsmith@chemistry.msstate.edu)
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Dr. Craig Hawker for making the time to come and present the Keynote Lecture at the 10th Lester Andrews Graduate Research Symposium. We would also like to thank Dr. Lester Andrews, Dr. Regina Young Hyatt, and the COVID Task Force for helping us assure the safety of our attendees and implement COVID precautions. We want to say thank you to you for participating in our symposium. We would like to thank the Department of Chemistry for supporting us in this endeavor. We would like to thank Drs. Nettles and Dornshuld for continuously going above and beyond to help plan this event. We would like to thank Dr. Wipf for allowing us to use his 3D printer and helping us with the design process. We would also like to thank all of our moderators, judges, and announcers for their time. And finally, we would like to thank the office staff: Mrs. Kathryn McTaggart, Mrs. Taylor Fultz, Ms. DaMonique “Day” Maclin, Mrs. Kathy Johnsey, and Mrs. Sara Stevenson for continuously answering our infinite questions and aiding us with planning.