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The University of Arizona played host this weekend to more than 100 college students from across the state at the 17th annual Arizona/NASA Space Grant Undergraduate Research Internship Program's statewide symposium.

The program began in 1988 after Congress passed the National Space Grant Act, and there are now programs in every state, said Susan Brew, manager of both the Arizona Space Grant Consortium and University of Arizona programs.

"The symposium is the grand finale of the program," she said, "a celebration of their accomplishments."

Presentations came from students at the UA, Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Pima Community College and South Mountain Community College. The presentations ran the gamut of science and engineering, from aerospace to biology and planetary science, as well as science education and public outreach.

Barron Orr, associate director of the UA program, said the program helps students "get a full research experience," an important part of which is sharing that research. "It's a chance to see how your peers in the scientific community react."

More than 50 of the students making presentations came from the UA, which receives "the yeoman's share of resources" from the consortium, Brew said.

As part of the symposium, a banquet for the interns and their mentors was held Friday. U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords gave a speech about the future of science and engineering as represented by the interns. As the wife of an astronaut and a member of the House Committee on Science and Technology, she has both interest and experience in government helping science.

"Some of my best friends are scientists," she said. She also said she expects global warming to be a major challenge in coming years and talked about how renewable energy sources, such as solar energy, will be important in the future. Arizona could be involved in providing much of that energy, she said.

Many of the students who receive internships from the NASA grant go on to become "full-fledged members" of NASA, Brew said. "Contributions build on each other."

The mentors — professors and professionals in government, business and non-profit groups who help interns conceive and carry out their projects — apply competitively to get interns.

Students work for diverse entities such as Raytheon, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Arizona Aerospace Foundation, as well as for individual professors at their respective schools.

"It marries education and research missions," Brew said.

UA students presented their work on topics such as looking for life on Mars, how fluoride affects micro-organisms in wastewater treatment, and public outreach from the Phoenix Mars Mission.

The Phoenix mission was highlighted frequently over the weekend as the landing date for the historic mission, May 25, is approaching. The banquet for the event was held in what will be mission control for Phoenix, and several students working for the mission made presentations of their work.

In her address, Giffords talked about the way that U.S. science has changed and grown since 1957, when the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik satellite and the space race began.

"We have come a long way, baby," she said.