The vast and varied body of graduate student research in Brock’s Faculty of Mathematics and Science (FMS) will be on display for the University community Friday, Sept. 16.

Created by Graduate Math and Science students (GRAMSS), the FMS GRaD Conference is an opportunity for student researchers to share their work and interact with their peers and other interested parties from across campus.

The inaugural event, hosted and sponsored by the Faculty, takes place in Pond Inlet starting at 9:30 a.m. Presentation sessions will be held in the surrounding classrooms. For a full schedule, visit the event’s website.

In addition to monetary and honorary awards presented to select student researchers, the event will also see students chosen to receive the Norgen Rising Star Awards, generously sponsored by Norgen Bioteck.

For GRAMSS Co-Presidents Melanie Denomme, a PhD student in Biological Sciences, and Noah Xiao, a PhD student in Biotechnology, the genesis of the conference was to create and solidify the feeling of community between graduate students and the Brock community.

“For new or aspiring graduate students, this conference will be a great way to introduce yourself to your peers and faculty, and to get to know Brock as a research institution,” Denomme said.

Presentations on a wide variety of research topics will give students the opportunity to learn interdisciplinary connections to their own areas of study. The day will also include Faculty trivia that aims to test and surprise attendees, as well as light food and refreshments.

“We created the conference to give graduate students who missed these types of opportunities because of the pandemic other chances to present their work,” said Denomme.

FMS GRaD Conference will allow students to meet faculty they have not yet met and offer a chance to get to know other faculty members better. Networking is important for success in graduate school, and conferences are a premiere place to refine these skills. Denomme said.

“The conference is a friendly and welcoming environment, and we would love to see attendees chatting and socializing during all the refreshment breaks,” she said.

For seasoned graduate students, the conference provides a space to mark their research journey and recognize the hard work and dedication they have shown in furthering science.

“We are hoping to alleviate students who are feeling imposter syndrome by creating a space to feel part of a community going through the same things,” said Denomme.

“Xiao and I wouldn’t have been able to make the conference happen without the support of the rest of GRAMSS, notably PhD in Biological Sciences student and Vice-President of Communications Danilo Giacometti, Research Associate – PhD Katharine Yagi, and Assistant Professor in Biological Sciences Kiyoko Gotanda,” said Denomme  “The support of FMS and the Office of the Vice-President, Research was also integral to the conference.”