Florida Gulf Coast University itoday issued an invitation to the public to attend the eighth annual Research Day on Friday, April 24.

The event, to be held at 11 a.m. in Alico Arena, is intended to highlight and celebrate the efforts of many dedicated people and programs at FGCU while at the same time educating the public about the substantial contributions to research and education that are made by predominately undergraduate institutions.

This year more than 200 posters will be on display beginning 11 a.m. and concluding at 3 p.m. The event is open to the public.

Following Research Day, FGCU will host the 12th annual Celebration of Excellence awards, beginning at 3:30 p.m. in Alico Arena. The posters represent a vast array of scholarship in the hard sciences, social sciences, business, health and education, college officials said.

FGCU bestows Faculty Scholarship, Service and Teaching Excellence awards and internal grant awards to name a few.

Cash awards include a $1,000 prize for the overall winner of the faculty Research Day poster competition, a $500 award for faculty and staff poster winners in each academic area, and a $300 award for student poster winners in each academic area.

Judges for the faculty poster competition include a member of the FGCU Senate Grants and Research Team, the Faculty Senate President, and external judges from across the country and local community.