The 5th Annual Graduate Research Symposium offered students an opportunity to share their research with faculty, staff, friends, colleagues and the local community in the form of a poster, oral, live or multimedia presentations.

This year's event featured 20 oral and live presentations, 100 poster presentations and 5 media presentations, representing a wide range of research from how endagerd species hold the keys to human evolution, to the matter of inspiration in renaissance lyric. One new additon to this years symposium was the Terminal Degree Jazz Band, who entertained us out on the veranda for the entirety of the event.

View this year's list of presenters

2009 Award Winners

Denton Prize Winner
($500 and trophy): Javiera Guedes, Astronomy and Astrophysics: THE EARTHS OF ALPHA CENTAURI (Oral/Live)

Graduate Dean’s Award
($250) Melissa Bayne, Psychology:SORTING THE FACTS FROM THE MYTHS: THE IMPORTANCE OF MENTORING FOR WOMEN AND UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS IN THE SCIENCES (Oral/Live)

Baskin School of Engineering

* Alumni Award: ($150 UCSC Bookstore Gift Certificate): Michael Singer, Computer Science : SPACE DEBRIS MITIGATION (Poster)
* Division Award: ($100 UCSC Bookstore Gift Certificate): Craig Lowe, Bioinformatics: ENDANGERED SPECIES HOLD KEYS TO HUMAN EVOLUTION (Poster)

Division of the Arts

* Alumni Award: ($150 UCSC Bookstore Gift Certificate): Joshua McVeigh-Schultz, Digital Arts & New Media: SYNAPTIC CROWD: VOX POP EXPERIMENTS (Media)
* Division Award: ($100 UCSC Bookstore Gift Certificate): Nada Miljkovic, Digital Arts & New Media: BALKAN SONG (Oral/Live)

Division of Humanities

* Alumni Award: ($150 UCSC Bookstore Gift Certificate): Michael Ursell, Literature: THE MATTER OF INSPIRATION IN RENAISSANCE LYRIC (Oral/Live)
* Division Award: ($100 UCSC Bookstore Gift Certificate):Dina El Dessouky, Literature (Oral/Live): ACTIVATING VOICE, BODY AND PLACE: NATIVE HAWAIIAN ACTIVIST WRITING FOR KAHO'OLAWE (Oral/Live)

Division of Physical and Biological Sciences

* Alumni Award: ($150 UCSC Bookstore Gift Certificate): Travis O'Brien, Earth & Planetary Sciences: ECIDUOUS VS. EVERGREEN: DOES FOREST-TYPE AFFECT CLIMATE? (Oral/Live)
* Division Award: ($100 UCSC Bookstore Gift Certificate): Carolina Reyes, Microbiology & Environmental Toxicology: MICROBIAL RESPIRATION PATHWAYS CONTROLLING THE FATE AND TRANSPORT OF ARSENIC (Poster)

Division of Social Sciences

* Alumni Award: ($150 UCSC Bookstore Gift Certificate): Brian Petersen, Environmental Studies: FOREST MANAGEMENT IN THE LOS ANGELES BASIN: THE CHALLENGE OF RESPONDING TO DROUGHT, BEETLES, AND FIRE (Oral/Live)
* Division Award: ($100 UCSC Bookstore Gift Certificate):Charlotte Nolan Reyes, Psychology (Oral/Live): ATHAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! PARENTS' MECHANISTIC EXPLANATION AND CHILDREN'S POSSIBILITY JUDGMENTS OF UNUSUAL EVENTS (Oral/Live)