UC Davis has a run of research symposia coming up in April and May, showcasing work by postdocs, graduate and professional students, and undergraduates. All the events are free and open to the public.

And there’s a run, too: the first Genius Run/Walk, a fundraiser for summer scholarships for undergraduate research.

Interdisciplinary Graduate and Professional Student Symposium — An opportunity for graduate and professional students from all disciplines to share their work with one another, the campus and the wider community. Thursday-Friday (April 2-3), Conference Center and Buehler Alumni Center.

The symposium is sponsored by the Graduate Student Association and the Office of Graduate Studies.

Participants will have a shot at more than $12,000 in awards. They include the Chancellor’s Grand Prize for Best Oral Presentation, $5,000; Provost’s Prize for Best Student Organized Session, $1,500; Vice Chancellor of Research Prizes for Best Posters, $1,000 for first place, $750 for second, $500 for third and $100 for honorable mention; and Dean’s Prizes for Best Oral Presentation, Best Performance and Best Artwork, $1,000 each.

New this year: the Grad Slam, in which students will compete to give the best three-minute presentation, academic or creative, for a prize of $1,000 and an all-expenses paid trip to the UC-wide Grad Slam competition in the Bay Area.

The conference opens Thursday (April 2) with art and performances, 3-5:30 p.m., Buehler Alumni Center; and poster session, 6-8 p.m., Conference Center Ballroom. The art exhibit continues Friday (April 3) in a new location: the Conferebnce Center lobby.

Here’s the Friday schedule for research presentations and the Grand Slam, all at the Conference Center:

• Sessions 1A, 1B and 1C, Grad Slam Brackets 1 and 2, and panel — 9-10:15 a.m.
• Sessions 2A, 2B and 2C, Grad Slam Brackets 3 and 4, and information session — 10:30-11:45 a.m.
• Sessions 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D — 12:30-1:45 p.m.
• Sessions 4A, 4B, 4C and 4D, and Grad Slam final round — 2-3:15 p.m.

An awards dinner, with keynote address by Cleveland Justis, executive director of the UC Davis Child Family Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday (April 3) in the Conference Center Ballroom. Registration required for the dinner.

Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities Conference — The 26th annual, organized by a campuswide committee and chaired by Tammy Hoyer, Undergraduate Research Center. The conference is sponsored by Undergraduate Education and the Division of Student Affairs.

Here’s the schedule:

• Poster sessions and art exhibit — 3-6 p.m. Friday, May 1, The Pavilion at the ARC
• Oral sessions — 1-6 p.m. Saturday, May 2, Wellman Hall

Postdoctoral Research Symposium — This first-time event is for postdocs from all fields. The researchers, besides presenting their own work, will be able to learn about what other postdocs are doing on the Davis and Sacramento campuses. The symposium also provides a great networking opportunity across disciplines. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursday, May 14, Memorial Union (second floor).

The organizers are planning three parallel sessions with a total of 54 talks (10 minutes each), and a poster session with 50 posters. The organizers said the parallel sessions will be grouped thematically based on submitted abstracts, and the presentations should be understandable to a wide audience.

Postdocs can win $500 awards for the best presentations and posters — the prize money will total at least $6,000.

Kaisa Kajala chairs the organizing committee, which is working in collaboration with the Postdoctoral Scholars Association and the Office of Graduate Studies. Kajala, a postdoc at the Department of Plant Biology and the Genome Center, has a fellowship in Grad Studies’ Professors for the Future program, and the symposium is her PFTF project.

Sponsors: Graduate Studies and Professors for the Future; Office of Research; School of Veterinary Medicine; College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; College of Biological Sciences; School of Medicine; Division of Social Sciences in the College of Letters and Science; College of Engineering; School of Education; and Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing.

Genius Run/Walk

The event website declares, “Celebrate your creative genius and support undergraduate research!” — encouraging participants to come as their favorite geniuses, or to create costumes to show off individual creativity!

Here’s another idea: Organize your friends to set a record for the most runners linked to complete a 5K (the record is 116).

The organizers said they'll ask people to join in creating a “pointillist finger painting” at the finish line, and the finished work will hang in the Undergraduate Research Center in the Student Community Center.

The event also includes a creativity fair featuring student clubs and other organizations presenting displays or activities.

Open to the public; all ages welcome. Co-sponsored by the Undergraduate Research Center and the Society of Women Engineers.

• When and where — Sunday, May 3. Starting time 9:30 a.m.; the course starts and ends on the Quad.
• Registration — $30 adult and $10 children, through April 11. Prices go up after that date. Register online.

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