Although dating Web sites and social networks are ubiquitous on the web, there are no search engines that can usher in the seminal stages of a promising romance.

Speed dating is perhaps the synthesis of tête-à-tête courtship and the convenience of organized romantic forums. It began as a way for Jewish singles to connect in Beverley Hills and has since been popularized by movies like Hitch.

Tonight, speed dating makes its debut at the UW as the GPSS (Graduate and Professional Student Senate) hosts an event in the HUB ballroom.

“I’m very excited,” said Savannah Baltera, event coordinator for GPSS who will emcee the event. “I think this will be a great event.”

It will start off with food and non-alcoholic beverages and allow people to mingle before the organized activity kicks off.

Once underway, there will be 20 people on either side of each table, and prospective couples will talk for three minutes before switching to the next person. There will be tables for straight, gay and lesbian romance seekers. Bisexuals are also welcome and can choose their table.

“There will be a DJ playing bad ‘80s rock ballads to keep it light-hearted,” said Krislyn McWilliams, GPSS Treasurer. “The appeal is that it’s kind of cheesy.”

GPSS members came up with the idea at the beginning of this year and hope to make it an annual event.

“We don’t have a lot of purely social events,” Baltera said. “For busy grad students, this is a quick way to meet a lot of people in one night.”

GPSS Resources Assistant Jamie Andrus said that the event will help graduate students connect to others who can relate to the demands of academic life.

“[Speed dating] makes things easier because you know that they’re single and you know that they are looking,” Andrus said.

The RSVP list of 300 has exceeded expectations.

“We’re having a huge turnout,” McWilliams said.

Unfortunately, the RSVP list indicates that the ratio of girls to guys will be 2:1, in which case the girls will have to do a lot of standing around, she said.

“There’s the perception [among guys] that ‘a lot of guys will be there so I’m not going to be there,’” McWilliams said. “We hope that a lot of guys walk in.”

There are rules to the game, however. Aside from the fact that the event is only open to graduate students, preventing undergraduates from dating their TAs, people will be advised not to go home with anyone that night, and no one can exchange phone numbers.

“We want students to be as safe as possible,” McWilliams said.

The event was purposefully planned to be shortly before Valentine’s Day.

“If anyone makes a love connection they can set a date for Valentine’s Day,” Baltera said.

[Reach reporter Cody Curtis at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]