BRINGING SCIENCE, BUSINESS TOGETHER: Before the Big Bang comes the Little Bang in UC Davis' annual innovation and business plan competitions.

The Little Bang event is set to conclude Feb. 21 with an afternoon of private team competition, followed by a public poster exposition and reception from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Kemper Hall lobby. The public is welcome to attend free of charge; people planning to attend must register by Feb. 15. Organizers said the posters combine the work of UC Davis science students and Graduate School of Management students into ideas for entrepreneurial ventures.

The Little Bang Poster Expo offers $15,000 in prize money, $3,000 each in five sectors: clean energy-environment; energy efficiency; foods for health and wellness; information technology and nanotechnology; and medical and biotech innovations. Participants also are competing to be semifinalists in the Big Bang! and a chance at that event's $23,000 in prize money.

The Big Bang! competition is set to conclude May 21 with final judging and the awards ceremony at the Activities and Recreation Center.

The Little Bang event is sponsored by UC Davis InnovationAccess, a unit of the Office of Research; and the Big Bang! event is organized by GSM master of business administration students.

More information: Little Bang Poster Expo, littlebang.ucdavis.edu and Big Bang! Business Plan Competition, bigbang.gsm.ucdavis.edu.

GRAD STUDENTS TO PRESENT PROJECTS: The Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry Graduate Group announced that its winter colloquium will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 19 and 20 in MU II at the Memorial Union. Presentation topics include analytical chemistry, biological and toxicological chemistry, environmental chemistry, fiber and polymer chemistry, and food and wine chemistry. Organizers said refereshments will be served.

All seminars and colloquia: calendar.ucdavis.edu