About 250 graduate and undergraduate students are expected to showcase their work as part of San Diego State’s first Student Research Symposium in Aztec Center on Feb. 29 and March 1.

“The symposium will provide a public forum to showcase SDSU student research, scholarship, and creative activities,” said Camille Nebeker, director of the Division of Research Affairs.

Participants will deliver presentations to a panel of faculty and community members in their discipline for two days. At the end of the symposium, a luncheon and award ceremony will be held.

Ten President’s Awards worth $500 and two Dean’s Awards worth $250 will be given to students with the winning oral presentations from each college represented. Additionally, President’s Award winners will go on to represent SDSU at the all-California State University Student Research Competition in May. While SDSU was recently named the number one small research university for the second consecutive year, Nebeker said the University Research Council’s Student Research Committee began planning this event about a year ago.

“There wasn’t really a public forum that allowed all SDSU students to present their research, scholarship, or creative activities,” Nebeker said.

Currently, there are department events for students to showcase their work, but this is the first time that the entire university community will gather to share student research contributions.

“The symposium provides a venue to share academic excellence and cutting edge discovery with our greater SDSU campus and select guests of the community,” Nebeker said.

All SDSU students, including those who graduated in Spring 2007, are eligible to apply, and can do so online. Organizers hope the symposium will bring notoriety to the school and surrounding community.