Graduate students will be able to present their research at the 2003 Edward F. Hayes Graduate Research Forum.

The Council of Graduate Students is hosting the forum on April 26.

Internal faculty judges from OSU and external judges are needed to evaluate graduate student research in 10 areas. Applications for judges should be submitted by Dec. 12.

Judge applicants may select a preference for becoming an abstract judge, a presentation judge or a combination of both.

“Becoming a judge is an excellent opportunity to see your own students present their research,” said Susan L. Huntington, dean of the graduate school.

Some faculty members feel they are too busy to participate, Huntington said. But those who have been judges before are more willing to do it again because they believe in the forum and what it does for the students and the university as a whole.

The 10 areas of research are administrative sciences, agricultural sciences, the arts, biological sciences, education, engineering sciences, humanities, physical sciences and mathematics, professional biological sciences and social and behavioral sciences.

Eight abstracts are selected from the 10 areas of research by three judges, Huntington said.

The presentation judges will select the winners of the each area on the day of the forum, she said.

Students who are not selected to give presentations may submit their research in the form of a poster, Huntington said. The posters will be displayed in an exhibition area.

The posters might contain graphs and a chart describing the research the student has done, Huntington said. The student has complete control over the sequence of their posters.

Students are judged on their methodology, their conclusions and on the graphical presentation of their research, Huntington said.

One student from last year’s forum chose to demonstrate the link between diet and disease in horses, she said. Her poster demonstrated the methodology of her study, the data she had gathered and her conclusions based on the data.

“The forum encourages students to put their best foot forward,” Huntington said.

It’s something students will have to do in their careers, so it is an excellent opportunity for them to gain that experience, she said. It also gives them a chance to express their ideas to their fellow students and academic colleagues.

“I think faculty members should participate because they would see the diversity of research being done in their (entire) college, not just in their department,” said Dimuth Siritunga, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Plant Biology who received an award at last year’s forum.

The research forum provides students with the opportunity to present their work for independent assessment, said William C. Clark, a former judge and liaison between the CGS organizers and the graduate school.

The judges are experts in their field and are typically faculty or the equivalent, he said.

There are two things that are special about the forum, Huntington said. First, it is completely student-run; second it gives students who do the presentations excellent experience.

Students enrolled in any area of graduate study are invited to participate, Huntington said.