The annual Pulse lecture gives one undergraduate student the chance to present a published research paper. This year, Bastrop senior David Welch will present his paper on “hiddenness.” Welch’s lecture will center on his paper titled: “The Expanded Problem of Hiddenness for Christian Theodicies.” It was published in the 2012 fall edition of The Pulse, an undergraduate magazine sponsored by the Honor’s College.

Divine hiddenness is concerned with the extent to which God reveals himself to man, Welch said. “It’s a real significant problem, and I wanted to write something about that as I was thinking about it and trying to come to terms with it,” he said.

The Phi Beta Kappa committee selected Welch as the winner of the Wallace Daniel Award for Undergraduate Writing. The award is given to the best research paper published in The Pulse. As the award recipient, Welch received a $200 cash prize and the opportunity to present The Pulse Lecture.

The event will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. today at the Memorial Drawing Room. Students, faculty and staff are invited to attend. The event is free, and complimentary copies of The Pulse will be distributed. Welch said he is excited about giving the lecture.

“It’ll be the longest talk I’ve ever given, and I think it’ll be a good experience,” he said. The inspiration for the topic of Welch’s paper came from his study abroad experience in St. Andrews. During his time abroad, Welch studied the problems of evil in a philosophy class. He said the topic resonated with him. “The problem of hiddenness particularly interested me I guess, not in just an academic way, but because it really is a meaningful and significant problem that Christians have to come to terms with,” Welch said.

Welch said writing his paper has been rewarding. The editing process with The Pulse has been especially helpful, he said.

“My editors were very gracious and patient, and they had a lot of good comments to make on the paper,” Welch said. “The editing process for publications can, a lot of times, end up being frustrating for the authors and the editors and the staff, but it went real well for me.” Students are encouraged to attend Welch’s lecture, Dr. Jeff Hunt, the faculty sponsor of The Pulse. said.

“It’s a great way to show support for student scholarship, and it should be a nice evening,” Hunt said. “It’s celebrating all that we’ve been doing at The Pulse for the entire academic year.”