Symposia and Seminars

CNSM Symposia

CNSM Student Research Symposium

Each year in early September, the College along with the Jensen Student Access to Science and Mathematics Center provide an opportunity for students to showcase their collaborative research with CSULB faculty. All CNSM students are encouraged to participate in the Symposium. The entire CSULB campus community and friends of CSULB are invited to celebrate these students' research accomplishments.

CNSM Faculty Research Summit

Since 2009 CNSM faculty have gathered annually to discuss their research and exchange ideas. This event fosters collegial interactions and encourages collaborations between the disciplines within the College.

CNSM Fellows Colloquium

The Fellows of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics are individuals and companies working together in support of excellence in mathematics and science at California State University Long Beach. As Fellows, they ensure that outstanding teaching and research programs are available to educate the next generation of scientists and mathematicians, as well as a science literate citizenry.


University-wide Symposia

CSULB Annual Student Research Competition

The competition showcases excellence in scholarly research and creative activity conducted by CSULB undergraduate and graduate students in the full range of academic programs offered by CSULB.

This is a student academic conference featuring oral presentations to an audience of fellow students and a jury of distinguished faculty. Students with the best presentations in each category will win cash prizes ($100 for first place winners, generously funded by the President's office), certificates, and an impressive entry for their resumes.


CSU System-wide Symposia

CSU Research Conference

The 31st Annual California State University Student Research Competition was held April 28-29, 2017, at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. This system-wide competition showcases excellent research conducted by CSU undergraduate and graduate students in the full range of academic programs offered by the CSU. Student participants make oral presentations before juries of professional experts from major corporations, foundations, public agencies, colleges and universities in California.

The competition is held to promote excellence in undergraduate and graduate scholarly research and creative activity by recognizing outstanding student accomplishments throughout the 23 campuses of the California State University.

CSUPERB Research Symposium

The California State University Program for Education and Research in Biotechnology (CSUPERB) mission is to develop a professional biotechnology workforce by mobilizing and supporting collaborative CSU student and faculty research, innovating educational practices, and partnering with the life science industry. CSUPERB provides seed grant funding, organizes an annual biotechnology symposium, sponsors industry-responsive curriculum, and serves as a liaison for the CSU with government, philanthropic, educational, and biotechnology industry partners. The program involves students and faculty from Life, Physical, Computer and Clinical Science, Engineering, Agriculture, Mathematics and Business departments at all 23 CSU campuses.

The 30th Annual CSU Annual Biotechnology Symposium will be held January 11-13, 2018, at the Santa Clara Marriott.

WRPI Annual Conference

The California State University is helping change the way California manages water. Founded in 2008 and composed of more than 250 water experts from throughout its 23 campuses, the CSU's Water Resources and Policy Initiatives (WRPI) is developing water management solutions through research, partnerships, education and training that provides students with hands-on learning. Topics include climate change, invasive species, sustainable seafood, wildlife, water quality, and restoration and conservation efforts as well as basic biological, ecological, and physiological investigations.

The 10th Annual WRPI Annual Conference will be held in spring 2018, date pending. The conference typically includes a faculty-student research poster reception at the Chancellor's Office in Long Beach following the Board of Trustees meeting.

Annual Desert Symposium

Established in 1976 under a cooperative agreement with the Bureau of Land Management, the Desert Studies Center is operated for the CSU by the California Desert Studies Consortium, an organization of seven southern California CSU campuses: Dominguez Hills, Fullerton, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Northridge, Pomona and San Bernardino. The Center is located at Zzyzx in the Mojave National Preserve between Barstow and Baker, California. With the passage of the California Desert Protection Act of 1994, the Desert Studies Center was placed into the Mojave National Preserve, and the National Park Service became our federal partner. The Center provides the opportunity for individuals and groups to conduct research, receive instruction, and experience the desert environment.

The 31st Annual Desert Symposium was held April 14-15, 2017. Symposia typically feature current research in archaeology, history, paleontology, geology, ecology, biological sciences, and environmental issues in or related to the California deserts and surrounding areas.


Regional, National, and International Symposia

International Polychaete Conference

The 13th International Polychaete Conference (IPC 13) will take place on the historic oceanliner, the RMS Queen Mary on August 4-9, 2019. The conference, held under the auspices of the International Polychaetology Association and co-organized by CSULB and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, will mark the 30-year anniversary of IPC 3, organized by Dr. Donald Reish and held at CSULB in 1989. Bringing the meeting back to Long Beach provides an opportunity to recognize Dr. Reish for his long legacy of polychaete research and service as a mentor to many generations of graduate students. More information and registration is available at the IPC website.

Tax-deductible donations for IPC to support student attendance and general meeting operations are also appreciated.

Southern California Academy of Sciences (SCAS) Annual Meeting

The Southern California Academy of Sciences is dedicated to promoting fellowship among scientists and those individuals interested in science; to contributing to scientific literature through publication of pertinent manuscripts; to fostering scholarship among young scientists; and to providing information to the membership, to the public, and to public agencies on matters of mutual interest and concern to the sciences and society. SCAS publishes a Bulletin on Southern California Science, an open access journal that is published 3 times each year (April, August, and December) and invites papers in any field of science with relevance to the southern California area.

The SCAS 2017 Annual Meeting was held April 28 at Santa Monica College. The SCAS 2018 Annual Meeting will be held at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Date pending.

Southern California Conferences for Undergraduate Research (SCUUR)

SCCUR is an organization of Southern California faculty, administrators, and interested members of the community who share the common goal of improving education for college and university students through hands-on experiences of undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative activity. SCCUR supports inquiry-based education, in which students learn while doing, working closely with faculty mentors on significant academic projects and presenting their results to audiences in a professional manner.

SCUUR holds a 1-day conference each November in the greater Los Angeles area to provide a forum for presentation and discussion of the best research, scholarship, and creative work of undergraduates in the region.


Departmental Seminars and Colloquia


Nobel Laureate Lecture Series

The CNSM Student Council has been the proud sponsor of the Annual Nobel Laureate Lecture Series since 1976.