Research that directly benefits South Carolina will be the focus of a new poster category at this year's 11th-annual Graduate Student Day April 5.

The category grew out of Focus on Research and Graduate Education--South Carolina (FORGE--SC), a consortium among USC and South Carolina's other research universities and a few other institutions of higher education in the state. The posters will be designed for an audience of the general public.

"Through FORGE--SC, we're trying to highlight and make more clear to the general public what graduate education and graduate research, in particular, does for the state of South Carolina," said Christine Ebert, dean of The Graduate School, which will celebrate its centenary this fall.

Approximately 100 graduate students from all colleges and schools at the University will compete for cash prizes in eight oral presentation categories and three poster categories. The first prize in each category is $750; second is $500; and third is $250.

Two faculty members and one graduate student from outside the major fields of the presenters will judge the presentations and posters. The presentations help graduate students polish their communication skills.

"The 15-minute oral presentations, judged by non-specialists, give students a chance to hone their presentation skills," said Judith James, associate dean of The Graduate School. "They will need those skills when they're applying for grants and trying to explain their work to foundation officers."

Graduate Student Day will begin with a breakfast for judges at 7:30 a.m. The oral presentations will begin at 8:30 a.m. in the Russell House. Presentation categories are Language, Communication, and Media Studies; Engineering and Technological Innovation; Environmental Studies; Life Sciences; Health Issues; Social Issues; Physical Sciences; and Humanities.

In addition to the poster category highlighting research that benefits South Carolina, the other poster categories are Scholarly (humanities and social sciences, life sciences, and physical sciences and engineering) and Creative.

This year's topics include "The Media and Avian Influenza: A Cross-County Comparison of Social Application of Risk," "Semantic Web Security," "Design of Nanostructured Metal Catalysts," "Coronary Vessel Development," and "Ecotourism" in Ghana, Jordan, and South Korea.

All sessions are open to faculty, staff, students, and the public.

Winners of the presentation and poster categories will be announced at an awards ceremony, which President Sorensen and Provost Becker will attend, at 1 p.m. in the Russell House Ballroom. The winners of four Dean's Awards for Excellence in Graduate Education, with a prize of $1,000 each, and the winner of the Educational Foundation's Award for Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant, also a $1,000 prize, will be announced at the ceremony.

Individual academic units also will honor award winners of competitions for scholarly and teaching excellence at the awards presentation, which will be open to family and guests. A light luncheon for all participants will be available from noon to 1 p.m. before the awards ceremony.

"Graduate Student Day is a cross-discipline celebration of graduate education," Ebert said. "We're interested in bringing graduate students from various disciplines together and giving them a chance to interact. The interdisciplinary approach is not only beneficial but also enjoyable. It's a great celebration of graduate education and what graduate students bring to us."

"And what they leave us with," James added. "The reputation of a research university is a product of its graduate students. It's the graduate students who go out into the world and take faculty positions or positions in industry. They represent graduate education at USC. Our reputation depends on them."

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