On May 20th, 2021, the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences held the 44th Annual Mini-con online. This one-day conference featured 12 excellent talks by the second year PhD students. During the conference, three departmental awards, the Charles G. McClintock Award, the Richard E. Mayer Award, and the Harry J. Carlisle Award, were announced. Roxie Chuang (Kim Lab), Daniel Thayer (Sprague Lab), and Julian Gerson (Kippin Lab) received the awards, respectively. The conference was organized and hosted by the current third year PhD students. Professors Michael Miller and Barry Giesbrecht, Chair and Vice-Chair of the department, delivered the opening and closing remarks. 

Mini-Con, or Mini Convention, is held every year in the spring to celebrate the terrific work of our second year PhD students have accomplished. Mini-con is a convention style presentation in which each second year student gives a twelve minute presentation based on their current research. The presentation encompasses the research they have conducted, data collected, and future prospects, with a Q&A from attendees. The students are evaluated on the professionalism and ability to present research to the scientific community. 

Due to the COVID pandemic, the 43rd and 44th Mini-con were virtual. The recorded version of these conferences can now be accessed on YouTube.