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People standing around an academic poster, one presenting and several listening.

Registration

Registering for this year’s River Symposium allows us to run things much more smoothly upon your arrival. It is free and only takes a minute.

If you plan to join remotely via Zoom, please check back for the online schedules for Friday and Saturday for links to individual sessions.

Last Year’s Program with Abstracts

A PDF copy of the 2023 River Symposium Program with Abstracts is now available for download. Complete with schedule of events and abstracts for all oral presentations and poster presentations, it also has embedded Zoom links, enabling you to go directly from the PDF viewer to the Zoom session associated with a particular talk or breakout discussion.

The Program with Abstracts is 94 pages in length.

Schedule

7:00-7:05 pm – Welcome

7:05-7:15 pm – Opening remarks

7:15-7:30 pm – Indigenous perpective

7:30-8:00 pm – Keynote address

8:00-10:00 pm – Poster session and exhibits

9:00-10:00 pm – Evening Social

9:45-10:00pm – Student poster awards

9:00-10:00 am – Plenary Addresses

10:00 am – 11:30 pm – Breakout Discussions

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Oral Presentation Sessions

12:00-1:00 pm – Lunch

1:00-2:00 pm – Plenary addresses with audience participation

2:00 – 3:00 pm – Breakout discussions

3:00-4:00 pm – Oral presentations

4:00-4:15 pm – Reflection and looking ahead

4:15-4:30 pm – Announce student oral presentation awards

Coming Together to Inspire Change

This symposium draws together people from all walks of life who share a common interest in rivers, watersheds, communities, and the connections therein. It also offers a time and a place where the public can interact with academics, professionals, and regulators, all working toward the same goal – ensuring our watersheds remain healthy for generations to come.

This year’s event will highlight and promote collaborative partnerships that focus on improving the health and resilience of the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay.

2023 Keynote speakers Jeff Janvrin, Sid Hill, and Betty Lyons with portion of the students and faculty who presented posters at last year’s River Symposium.

Commitment to Care

Bucknell is preparing to host this year’s symposium as an in-person event so that all individuals onsite — attendees, speakers, staff, vendors, and venue personnel — remain safe and comfortable. Creating a safe, worry-free symposium experience is our top priority.

We are monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic and following the guidance of our partners at Geisinger Medical Center, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and the Center for Disease Control.

Find up-to-date information on COVID and events on our campus on the Bucknell COVID-19 Information website. Should conditions change, we are prepared to offer the symposium entirely online (virtual) like we have previously.

Getting Here

Please feel free to use the helpful links below to plan your trip to the River Symposium

Testimonials

“This is a terrific event! It’s great to see the students present their posters on Friday night and attend the talks and breakout sessions on Saturday. I made a lot of contacts too.” (member of the public)

“I get a lot out of the plenary talks, breakout discussions, oral presentations, and conversations over lunch. I learned so much and plan to come back next year.” (undergraduate student)

“I really appreciate the friendly and welcoming atmosphere of this symposium. It’s a great networking event too. The evening social during Friday’s poster session and the lunch and refreshments during the exhibits are a very nice touch.” (member of local conservancy)

“I really appreciate the friendly and welcoming atmosphere of this symposium. It’s a great networking event too. The evening social during Friday’s poster session and the lunch and refreshments during the exhibits are a very nice touch.“I like how this symposium tries to weave together art, religion, science, economics and policy. I hope Bucknell continues it for many years to come. (local citizen)

1,674

Research
Posters

853

Authors

397

Oral Presentations

The annual River Symposium is an educational community outreach event sponsored by the Bucknell Center for Sustainability & the Environment, the Susquehanna River Heartland Coalition for Environmental Studies, and the Pennsylvania Water Resources Research Center at Penn State University.

For more information, please contact Dr. Benjamin Hayes, (brh010@bucknell.edu). Director of the Watershed Sciences and Engineering Program or Sean Reese (spr016@bucknell.edu). Research Scientist at the Bucknell Center for Sustainability & the Environment at