Discover USC is coming up this Friday, and that means it’s time to plan your visit to the University of South Carolina’s premier showcase of research, scholarship, creativity and leadership. Not sure where to start? We have some great tools available to help you see and experience everything you’re most interested in.

Getting to Discover USC

Shuttles will be provided throughout the day, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Discover USC will be held at both the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center (CMCC) and the USC Alumni Center. Parking will be limited at Discover USC, so we encourage everyone coming from USC Columbia to catch a ride to the CMCC on a shuttle bus. Shuttle service will be available from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with several pick-up/drop-off locations throughout campus. (The last shuttle will depart the CMCC at 5:00 p.m.)

Keynote address by Nobel Laureate, Shuji Nakamura

8:30 a.m., CMCC, Columbia Ballroom, upper level
The inaugural Discover USC keynote address will be given by 2014 Nobel Laureate, Dr. Shuji Nakamura, who invented “efficient blue light-emitting diodes (LED).” Dr. Nakamura’s blue LED was the key innovation that allows us to harness the power of this efficient light source today from Times Square to the globe’s most remote outposts. Dr. Nakamura’s path from a tiny fishing village on Japan’s smallest island to winning the Nobel Prize, is a fascinating story, and his keynote address is a can’t-miss. Registration for presenters, reviewers and volunteers opens at 8:00 a.m., so if you’re attending Discover USC in one of those capacities, be sure to arrive early, to allow time to register before the keynote speech.

Scholarly Presentations

10:15 to 11:45 a.m. and 1:00 to 2:30 p.m., throughout the CMCC and the USC Alumni Center
Undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs and medical scholars from every USC System campus and Palmetto Health, will give more than 1,000 presentations at Discover USC throughout the day. Presentation topics will run the gamut from scientific research to community service projects and everything in between. Visit the Find a Presenter page to search for presentations you want to check out, and find out where and when they’ll be happening so you can plan your itinerary.

Reception and Awards Ceremonies

The reception is at 2:30 p.m., followed by awards ceremonies, CMCC, upper level
Everyone is welcome to enjoy a break in the action and light snacks at the afternoon reception, held in the upper level of the CMCC beginning at 2:30 p.m. After the reception, beginning at 3:00 p.m., the presenter groups will break out to various rooms in the CMCC for their awards ceremonies. Visitors are welcome to stop in and enjoy one or more awards ceremonies. We encourage visitors to check out the Graduate student awards and three-minute-thesis competition finals in Columbia Ballroom B at 3:00 p.m.

Save the Date for Discover USC 2018

Friday, April 20, 2018
It is still a year away, but we’re already gearing up for Discover USC 2018. We look forward to seeing you there: Friday, April 20, 2018, at the CMCC.

17 April 2017