UCF Student Research Week 2024: Celebrating Innovation, Collaboration and Impact
There are few opportunities for students from across disciplines and colleges to come together quite like the UCF Student Research Week, taking place March 25-29. From groundbreaking engineering feats to captivating artistic projects, students from various fields and expertise levels gather this week to showcase their work within the UCF community.
The premiere event is the Student Scholar Symposium, which takes place March 26-27, where over 800 students showcase more than 600 projects. Graduate and undergraduate students summarize their research or creative projects on posters, providing viewers with a concise overview. During the symposium, judges interview presenters to select top projects in various categories. Winners are announced daily and receive scholarship awards to support their future endeavors.
After the Student Scholar Symposium on March 27, the College of Business will host the Impact of Research Competition. This event challenges students to articulate the significance and potential impact of their research, to address the ‘so what?’ question and thereby demonstrate how their contributions can improve the world. The top three winners will receive $3,000 in awards to support the continuation of their work.
We’re pleased to announce that this year, we will host keynote speaker, Jorge Cham, on March 28. Cham is the best-selling and Emmy-nominated creator of PHD Comics, a popular comic strip offering a humorous portrayal of academia. The Panamanian engineer turned cartoonist, writer, and producer began crafting his comedy while pursuing a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at Stanford University. His talk promises to be insightful and entertaining, as he examines the sources of stress for creative and scientific professionals, explores the myth of procrastination, and helps students reconnect with their inner drive and motivation.
On March 29, the Enhancing Lives Showcase offers the opportunity to discover the incredible creative scholarship at UCF in a more personalized setting. Explore interactive displays showcasing artworks, videos, and posters detailing how the knowledge and skills gained through research enabled each creation. Engage with students as they share insights into their work.
After the showcase, the week closes with the Excellence Awards, recognizing the dedication and efforts of UCF students and faculty mentors who work diligently throughout the year on research and creative endeavors.
Student Research Week events help foster camaraderie build presentation skills and bring people together while allowing students to receive recognition for their hard work.
“Research is undoubtedly an integral part of graduate study and drives the discovery that makes UCF one of the top universities in innovation,” says Elizabeth Klonoff, vice provost and dean of the College of Graduate Studies.
Kim Schneider, assistant vice provost in the Division of Student Success and Well-Being states, “We are excited to see the incredible work of all students and recognize the symposium as a valuable opportunity for them to share their expertise. However, what inspires this event each year is the collaboration and community it instills in those who participate and attend.”
Student Research Week is open to all students, faculty, staff, and the community. For more information or to see the full schedule and locations of events, visit researchweek.ucf.edu.
Latest Research
- UCF Student’s Primitive Asteroids Work Provides Context for Further Research, Future NASA MissionsBrittany Harvison studied the composition of families of ancient asteroids to better understand the history of our solar system and if they may have carried water to Earth.
- Robot Rovers on the “Moon”: Lunabotics Challenge Preps Students for Space CareersCollege teams, including a group of Knights, will build robot rovers and compete at the new Regolith Bin at UCF’s Exolith Lab before the best crews advance to finals at Kennedy Space Center.
- Pegasus Professor Returns from Fulbright Specialist Trip to KazakhstanDuring his recent visit, Naim Kapucu spent three weeks lending his expertise and building a relationship between UCF and Nazarbayev University.
- UCF Researcher’s Nanoparticles Serve as Pivotal Delivery Component of Promising Pediatric Cancer TreatmentA crucial molecular mixture created at UCF combines with an RNA-targeting therapy to potentially shrink an aggressive class of pediatric brain tumor.
- New Department of Defense Funding Is Propelling UCF Hypersonic TechnologyRecent awards from the U.S. Department of Defense will fund the construction of a hypersonic testing facility, flight experiments and further advancements of the technology.
- UCF Planetary Scientist’s Innovations Help Pave the Way for Economic Activity Beyond EarthSome of Metzger’s latest inventions are designed to help cost-effectively gather, use and manage resources, such as ice for water and fuel and lunar soil for building materials.