Ten thousand dollars just wasn't enough.

The judges at the University's sixth annual Graduate Research Exhibition were so impressed by the exhibits this year that they awarded $16,500 instead of the original $10,000 amount, said Charles Hosler, dean of the graduate school.

"The caliber of what the judges see this year is the best they've ever seen," said Robert Ott, chairman of the Graduate Council Research Committee.

The exhibition, held last weekend in Kern Graduate Building's lobby, was so large the Graduate Council Research Committee had considered screening entries for the program, Ott said. The committee is made up of seven faculty members and one graduate student.

"(The exhibition is) good preparation for some of the things I have to do in the future. It helps when giving presentations and taking comprehensive exams," Stephen Daggett (graduate-biology) said.

The exhibition featured students from arts and humanities, engineering, life and health, social and behavioral, and physical sciences diciplines. All University graduate schools were represented in the 98 exhibitions.

"It is mind-expanding to see all the different fields," Chuck Yohn (graduate-ecology) said.

Each student was asked to present his or her research through the use of posters. Some students also used televisions, robots, slides and molecular models.

Wha Eun Lee (graduate-speech communications) said it was difficult for her to figure a way to present her research in written form. She said it was the first time she had to visually present her project on the influence of a first language to the learning of a second language.

Twenty-four money prizes ranging from $100 to $1,000 were awarded for use on further research. First prize winner Melissa Diamanti (graduate-anthropology) said she will use her award to buy books at an archaeological convention in April.

Other first prize winners included: Alan McConnell (graduate-food science), Kevin Chen (graduate-sociology), Sridhar Canumalla (graduate-engineering) and Stephen Dynan (graduate-engineering), Atul Parikh (graduate-polymer science) and Sundar Atre (graduate-polymer science).

In addition to the prizes, Ott said a poster contest is being held to design next year's posters. All graduate students are eligible and the deadline is May 1. A $500 prize will be given and information can be found in the graduate office of Kern Building.