The BRIDGES: A Cross-Departmental Graduate Student Conference held its second annual event at Stony Brook University’s Student Activities Center on February 19. The conference, organized by graduate students through The SBU Graduate Arts & Sciences Magazine (GradMag), expanded this year to include participation from over 40 academic departments.
Ava Nederlander, a PhD candidate in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and member of the GradMag leadership team, led the organization of BRIDGES 2026. The event featured 93 research poster presentations from disciplines including sciences, engineering, social sciences, humanities, and arts. Additional activities included a graduate art gallery, student film screenings, live musical performances, and a Graduate Department Fair aimed at promoting connections across different academic fields.
Nederlander highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary engagement: “No one’s research exists in a vacuum,” she said. “Everyone is working together, and there is so much collaboration that can happen when you create the space for it. BRIDGES brings different departments and disciplines together so students can connect, learn about one another’s work, and find ways to bridge their research.”
The conference began with a keynote address by Peter Stokes of Huron Consulting Group who spoke on leadership and interdisciplinary thinking in research environments. Attendees also participated in seminars on science communication hosted by the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science and professional development workshops led by the Stony Brook University Career Center focused on networking and career readiness.
A panel of 23 faculty and industry judges evaluated student submissions in poster, art, and film categories. Lauren Rothburd from the Department of Psychology received first place for her poster titled “Temperament, Psychopathology, and Interpersonal Functioning Factors of Adolescent Social Media Use,” earning a $1,000 prize. Lily Cam from Chemical and Molecular Engineering placed second ($500) with her work on biofilm dispersal mechanisms in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Sai Abasolo from Biomedical Engineering received third place ($250) for research into bone-mimicking organoids.
Rothburd described her experience: “My day has been nothing but exciting,” she said. “Independent of winning, it was enlightening and informative. Every workshop, the keynote, the networking — it all tapped into professional development in a way that feels like it will really stay with me.”
Abasolo commented: “Doing BRIDGES gave me a snapshot of my work and helped me see the big picture before my defense,” he said. “It was a great stepping stone.”
Benjamin Truong (Computer Science) won the $350 Art Award for his stone lithography piece “Beaver Jesus.” Issack Cintron (Film MFA) earned the $350 Film Award for iCapicu!. Both were recognized during closing remarks.
Cintron discussed screening his film: “The film is rooted in family and memory,” he said. “It is about holding onto traditions and passing them to the next generation. Even when we lose people, we do not lose them entirely — we carry them forward through the stories and rituals they gave us.” He added: “My family is a huge part of why I make films, so being able to share that moment with them meant everything,” he said. “Anytime you get to screen your film in front of an audience, that is what filmmakers aspire to. But doing it here, surrounded by graduate students from across disciplines, made it even more meaningful.”
Provost Carl W. Lejuez and Dean Celia Marshik delivered closing remarks emphasizing graduate scholarship’s role in advancing interdisciplinary engagement at Stony Brook University.
“I am such a big fan of this conference,” said Marshik. “The fact that it is graduate student-organized and run is really a tribute to what our graduate students are doing for themselves. It is just a reminder of the amazing talent and intellect of the graduate students at Stony Brook. BRIDGES is a celebration of the amazing things our graduate students accomplish on this campus. It reminds us why we want to be at a university and why this work matters.”
Lejuez added: “This may be the best event we do at the university all year,” he said. “It’s done by our students, for our students, and it is so closely tied to what our graduate students need. It is intellectually nurturing while also keeping a real eye on career opportunities.”
Nederlander reflected on ongoing growth: “Our team represents graduate students from the sciences, the humanities and the arts, and we are all coming together around one mission: graduate community and interdisciplinarity,” she said. “We are proud to be the organization that brings people together, and we will continue to grow every year.”
BRIDGES 2026 continued to demonstrate strong interest among Stony Brook University’s graduate community for cross-disciplinary collaboration.
