Florida State University Panama City will hold its annual Student Research Symposium on April 19, with keynote speaker Jessica E. Graham, Ph.D., director of the St. Andrew and St. Joseph Bays Estuary Program.

“The goal of the research symposium is to get our students more involved in research,” said Karen Works, Ph.D., assistant teaching professor in Computer Science at FSU PC. “This event gives our students an opportunity to present their research to a multi-disciplinary audience in a way that is designed to simulate a professional conference presentation.”

This year’s symposium, the fourth year of the event, will be from 9 a.m. to noon on Friday, April 19, at FSU Panama City, 4750 Collegiate Drive. For more information, visit PC.FSU.EDU/student-research/symposium.

Following the structure set by the Center for Undergraduate Research and Academic Engagement, the FSU PC Student Research Symposium is an annual showcase for students from all majors to present their work to the university community. Student researchers from FSU, area schools and community colleges may also present their work in a poster or creative format.

Novel research work for presentation may include STEM projects, designs, project proposals, artistic works or compositions, critical reviews and other independent works completed during the academic year.

Graham has been director of the Estuary Program since August 2021, where she supervises staff and ongoing research. She has also been program director for the Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership since March 2015.

Works said Graham was invited to speak because she had an impressive research background and “would be a fantastic advocate for the importance of research for the academic and professional development of our students.”