14th Annual Conference
Theme: TBD
Location: Great Hall, MU
Date & Time: February 20th, 2026 from 8 am-3 pm
Register Here (link coming in fall)
Poster and Presentation Abstracts Due: February 13th, 2026
The Graduate and Professional Student Conference is a free opportunity for graduate and professional students to highlight their work while practicing their presentation skills. Grad students and resesearchers will get the chance to participate in competitions through oral, poster and exhibitions for the chance to win cash prizes. If you do not see a section that fits with your work please email gpssconfchair@iastate.edu or gpssconfcommittee@iastate.edu
We would like to remind you that this conference is not strictly about research, this conference is open to all graduate and professional students to present their research, proposals, case studies, or exhibitions with the larger ISU community.
The GPSS at Iowa State University hosts its 14th annual Graduate student research conference in the Memorial Union all day on February 20th, 2026. The Conference provides an opportunity for ISU graduates to share their research and scholarship with the larger ISU community.
We see our 14th annual conference as an opportunity to socialize across the Colleges, build community, and uplift our wellbeing. This year’s theme is Bridging Science and Society: Research for the Evolving World. This conference looks ahead to focus on the lives of graduate students as workers, researchers, and academics. We want to show the value of graduate students and researchers as we envision the future of graduate education and work. We would like to bring graduate student organizations, ISU services, and higher education stakeholders like you together to discuss how graduate life could thrive within the larger Iowa State community.
Ultimately, we ask, how can we use current and pressing challenges as opportunities to reinvent our Iowa State graduate community and better support each other’s graduate work, research, and way of life?
We hope you can help cultivate an answer to this question with us! For more information, please email our Conference Committee at gpssconfchair@iastate.edu.
Past Winners:
2025:
Christine Cain - 1st place, Creative Poster
Mariana Castro Azpiroz - 2nd place, Creative Poster
Melis Dilek and Melika Ziba - 3rd place, Creative Poster, People's Choice
-
Anne Poincon - 1st place, Oral Research Competition
Mihir Ojha - 2nd place, Oral Research Competition, People's Choice
Emmanuel Padmore Mantey - 3rd place, Oral Research Competition
-
Nan Zhao - 1st place, Poster Competition
Camilla Junaid - 2nd place, Poster Competition
Jayden Jech - 3rd place, Poster Competition
Muhammad Azhan - Poster Competition People's Choice
-
Frankie Porter - PhD Regalia Winner
Joseph Eix, Jayden Jech, & Hunter Wells - Master's Regalia Winners
2024:
Alycia West - 1st place, Creative Poster
Mariana Castro Azpiroz - 2nd place, Creative Poster
Kelli Fitzpatrick - 3rd place, Creative Poster
-
Luiz Filippe Santana Adao - 1st place, Oral Research Competition
Boris Alladassi - 2nd place, Oral Research Competition
Mihir Ojha - 3rd place, Poster Competition
