Michael Coleman is one of the presenters at the 2021 ReSEARCH Dialogues.
ReSEARCH Dialogues schedule and information: https://blog.utc.edu/news/2021/04/research-dialogues-schedule/
URACE Research Programs
Korede Ajumobi has some advice for students conducting research:
Embrace failure because you probably are, at least, at first.
“Failure is very good. Failure is your best friend, actually,” he said.
If one hypothesis doesn’t pan out, you can dump it and move on to something that might work, said Ajumobi, one of the first presenters at the virtual 2021 ReSEARCH Dialogues during a Q&A session on Monday. His research used data science to predict student success at UTC.
A total of more than 660 students and faculty are presenting their research during the event, which runs through Thursday. Students from disciplines across campus are participating with research that runs the gamut, from biomedical applications to pop culture to poverty, from COVID-19-related analysis to vegan meals to learning a second language.
“There is nothing more exciting than pushing the boundaries of creativity. There’s nothing more fun than coming up with a question that really spurs one’s creativity and curiosity, and then being able to find the answer to that question,” said UTC Provost Jerold Hale.
“I would hope that what this week will do for folks is that it will spur their curiosity, get them to push the boundaries a bit more with the work that they do and to enhance the next generation of scholars, because that’s the way that we move fields forward.”
UTC Chancellor Steve Angle recalled that, when he was a sophomore chemistry major, he was trying to decide whether he would enroll in veterinary school or dental school after graduation.
“I asked my sophomore organic chemistry faculty member, ‘What should I do with chemistry if I needed a fallback?’ and he said, ‘Well, in order to find out, you ought to do research.’ So I ended up working for him for over two years,” Angle said. “It was just a phenomenal experience. I got to do things no one had ever done before. And it made learning so exciting.”
Sai Medury, another presenter at Monday’s Q&A whose research focused on the complex computer analysis of “Design and Evaluation of Cascading Cuckoo Filters for Zero-False-Positive Membership Services,” quoted Steve Jobs, the late co-founder of Apple Inc.:
“Stay hungry and stay foolish.”
