West Virginia State University’s (WVSU) College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics will hold its 24th annual Research Symposium Friday, April 26, to share information and celebrate the scientific research being conducted by its students. The event will begin at 9 a.m. in Hamblin Hall on campus.

The symposium will be led by a keynote address from Theodore Gray, co-founder of Wolfram Research, Inc., makers of Mathematica, and the author of “The Elements,” the internationally best-selling book and App on the beauty of the periodic table.

In celebration of the 150thanniversary of the creation of the periodic table of elements, Gray will speak on “The Periodic Table: Completing a Work of Ages.”

Gray’s book, “The Elements,” has been translated into 25 languages. He is the creator of the BAFTA award-winning, 2013 iPad App of the Year, Disney Animated, and proprietor of periodictable.com and mechanicalgifts.com. His most recent project is a book on the functional beauty of mechanical devices, to be published this fall.

In addition, the symposium will feature presentations by student researchers and participants in WVSU’s Research Rookies program and NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium scholarship recipients, as well as an awards ceremony and an acknowledgement of graduating students.

“The symposium provides a public forum for our students to share their scientific research with a wider audience,” said Dr. Naveed Zaman, dean of WVSU’s College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. “When students become part of a research group, it not only reinforces their scientific skills but makes them feel like part of a family, so this is also a celebration of their hard work and accomplishments.”

The research symposium is sponsored by AT&T, The Dow Chemical Company and the NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium.

The event will take place in the Thomas R. Cabbell Auditorium in Hamblin Hall.

Originally from Jack Bailey for West Virginia State University News.