The MSU Museum invites the community to experience Ignite Talks MSU, an exciting event where students bring their research to life through fast-paced, five-minute presentations. This semester’s event will take place starting at 7:00PM on Wednesday, October 29, 2025 at the MSU Museum’s temporary location at 311 Abbot (6th floor) in downtown East Lansing.
Ignite Talks MSU is designed to connect audiences with creative and passionate MSU student researchers who share their ideas, discoveries, and expertise in an engaging and accessible format. What makes Ignite Talks unique is its fast-pace structure where each presenter has just five minutes to convey their idea, using 20 slides that automatically advance every 15 seconds.
“Ignite Talks MSU has become a powerful platform for connection and exchange,” said Abbie Stevens, event organizer and MSU Museum program manager. “It functions as a kind of ‘third place’ on campus creating an inviting social space outside the classroom and workplace where students can share timely, relevant ideas and engage with new audiences. By fostering this kind of social infrastructure, the MSU Museum helps strengthen collaboration, dialogue, and creativity across our student community.”
Since launching in the fall of 2023, Ignite Talks MSU has been held each semester, featuring students from a wide array of disciplines, including the arts, sciences, engineering, and humanities. Each semester, 10 outstanding students are selected through an open call process to present their research to the public.
This semester’s lineup features a compelling range of topics that highlight the breadth of research and passion among MSU students including:
Jessica Freedman, “Improving mental health screeners for autistic youth?”, MA student in the Department of Media and Information, College of Communication Arts and Sciences
Diego S. Granados-Villanueva, “Oh, The Places Proteins Will Go!”, PhD candidate in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Natural Science
Alex Guo, “Beyond Rhetoric: Building Trans-Affirming Communities”, undergraduate student in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Cultures (WRAC), College of Arts and Letters
Justin Jaraczewski, “When to Change Your Mind: Principles of Plasticity”, undergraduate student in the Department of Physiology, College of Natural Science and Honors College
Rachel Lau, “How mud and sand shape Great Lakes coastal wetlands”, PhD student in the Department of Geography, Environment and Spatial Sciences, College of Social Science
Moldir Moldagaliyeva, “Why Some People Pick Local Fakes Over Original Imports”, PhD candidate in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations, College of Communication Arts and Sciences
James Morrison, “Drones, Sensors & AI for Low-Cost Infrastructure Checkups”, graduate student in the Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering
Jutamas Suwannawat, “Bouncing back like a rocking doll: the power of resilience”, PhD student in the College of Nursing
Ishitha Teluguntla, “What Happens When Brain Cells Go Rogue”, undergraduate student in the Department of Neuroscience, Lyman Briggs College and Osteopathic Medical Scholars Program
Morgan van den Berg, “Parasitic AI: How machines feed on our vulnerabilities”, graduate student in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations, College of Communication Arts and Sciences
The MSU Museum welcomes all interested individuals to attend this exciting event. Tickets are free, but seating is limited.