The 10th Annual Student World Water Forum provides University of Nevada, Reno graduate and undergraduate students the chance to present research about local, regional, national and international water issues. The forum mimics a scientific conference and gives students the opportunity to speak to local professionals and fellow students about water-related topics.

The conference will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday, Nov. 22 at the University's Great Room on the fourth floor of the Joe Crowley Student Union.

"The forum gives students the opportunity to talk about the research they are doing," Angela Stevens, co-president of the event and graduate student in the University's hydrology program, said. "It is also a good way to work on their public speaking skills."

The Student World Water Forum has invited local professionals to provide feedback on the student's presentation skills and research.

"We all need water to survive," Stevens said. "Water is a really important issue and not a lot of people can tell you where their water comes from."

The University event, this year featuring 20 student presenters is based on the World Water Forum that is held every three years in various locations around the world.

"Our water forum gives students a chance to be able to attend a similar event right here on campus," Stevens said.

In addition to organizing the event, she will present on the topic of composting latrines based on her trip to Panama last January with the University's Student Association for International Water Issues.

"We are all interested in slightly different aspects about water, and the forum gives us an opportunity to exchange ideas," she said.

Stevens and Alecia Brantley are co-presidents of the Student World Water Forum committee which is made up of several students within the graduate program of hydrologic sciences. The committee is working together to host the forum under the guidance of faculty advisors Kate Berry, professor of geography, and Laurel Saito, director of the Graduate Program of Hydrologic Sciences.

While many of the presenters are also hydrology students, Stevens and Brantley would like to see students from all fields of studies get involved in the future forums.

"We would really like to see more students present from different majors such as business, journalism and other science majors," Brantley said. "There are many different niches within the realm of water."

The Student World Wide Forum will also feature keynote speaker Emma Norman, a professor from Michigan Technological University. She will speak from 4-5 p.m., Nov. 22 at the Redfield Auditorium in the Davidson Mathematics and Science Center. Her lecture is titled, "Governing water across borders: how problems can lead to innovative solutions."

For more information about the Student World Water Forum, go to http://www.cabnr.unr.edu/swwf/  or contact swwf_info@lists.unr.edu.