Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavor

UTC Leadership Celebrates Student Research

Melissa Glosup — Mon, 09 Nov 2026 14:44:32 +0000

UTC Chancellor Lori Bruce Man recently highlighted the “creativity, innovation, and passion” of UTC student researchers in a LinkedIn post celebrating the university’s research community and the Student Research Pitch Competition.

URaCE is proud to support these students and their faculty mentors. We are grateful for the continued support of university leadership in celebrating and advancing student research at UTC.

Read Chancellor Bruce’s post on LinkedIn.

The post UTC Leadership Celebrates Student Research appeared first on Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavor.

Office for URaCE Launches New Student Training Program

Melissa Glosup — Mon, 02 Nov 2026 14:28:25 +0000

The Office for URaCE is excited to announce the first Spring Undergraduate Research Learning Institute, beginning in January 2027! During this FREE 6-week learning institute, students will learn how to prepare for an undergraduate research position. The program is self-paced via Canvas and mostly virtual.

Visit the URaCE website to learn more.

The post Office for URaCE Launches New Student Training Program appeared first on Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavor.

Student Pitch Competition a Success!

Melissa Glosup — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 14:13:04 +0000

On Wednesday, October 21, undergraduate and graduate students competed in the Fall 2026 Research Pitch Competition. Learn more about the competition on the UTC News.

Thank you to all who made the event a success – the judges, faculty mentors, the team at the UTC Graduate School, Interim Vice Chancellor for Research Dr. Mina Sartipi, UTC Interim Provost Dr. Matt Matthews, Dr. Jennifer Goodrich, and the outstanding competitors who shared their research with the audience.

Congratulations to our winners!

Graduate Student 3MT Pitch Competition

	Student	Project	Faculty Mentor	Department
1st Place	Katelyn Hamilton	Pulling Water from Thin Air!	Dr. Venkateswara Kode	Chemical Engineering
2nd Place	Kate Graphos	Green Space or Screen Space: Cognitively and Psychologically Restoring the Mind in Virtual Nature	Dr. Max Teaford	Psychological Science
3rd Place	Maneesha Vanga	Smarter Infrastructure for Safer Autonomous Driving	Dr. Mina Sartipi	Computer Science
People’s Choice	Priya Chowdhury	Reimagining Urban Streets: A Framework for Greening Cities Through Autonomous Vehicle Transitions	Dr. Jejal Reddy Bathi	Water Resources Engineering

Undergraduate Student Research Pitch Competition

	Student	Project	Faculty Mentor	Department
1st Place	Autumn Reagan	Designing a Variable Stiffness Wrist Brace	Dr. Erkan Kaplanoglu	Mechatronics
2nd Place	Allison Turner	The Missing Link in Taf2: Uncovering Its E3 Ubiquitin Ligase as a New Target for Cancer Therapy	Dr. Jannatul Ferdoush	Biology
3rd Place	Austin McDade	Affordable Myoelectric Prosthetics Hand	Dr. Erkan Kaplanoglu	Mechatronics
People’s Choice	Autumn Reagan	Designing a Variable Stiffness Wrist Brace	Dr. Erkan Kaplanoglu	Mechatronics

The post Student Pitch Competition a Success! appeared first on Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavor.

URaCE Summer Research Program Participant Featured on UTC News

Melissa Glosup — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 13:53:29 +0000

Congrats to Abby Borden, who participated in the Office for URaCE summer research program in Peru this summer. Abby’s research was recently featured on the UTC News.

The post URaCE Summer Research Program Participant Featured on UTC News appeared first on Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavor.

DATAA Internship Program Featured on UTC News!

Melissa Glosup — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 18:13:26 +0000

The Driving Action Through Analytics and Analysis (DATAA) internship program was recently featured on the UTC News. The program, offered in partnership between the Journey Health Foundation Research Center and the Office for URaCE, gives UTC students the opportunity to work alongside local nonprofits, healthcare organizations, schools, and government agencies to solve real community challenges through data.

Read the UTC News feature.

The post DATAA Internship Program Featured on UTC News! appeared first on Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavor.

Congratulations to the 2026 UTC Fall Research Conference Participants!

Melissa Glosup — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 15:22:47 +0000

Congratulations to the students who participated in the 2026 UTC Fall Research Conference!

Conference Participants

Presenter	Faculty Mentor	Project
Ian Angle	Dr. Jin Wang	Understanding how environmental conditions impact the social organization of Degu
Abby Borden	Dr. Sadie Weber	More Than a Passion Fruit: Integrating Local Knowledge of Poro Poro in the Peruvian Andes with Scientific Research
Amelia Catala	Dr. Dalei Wu Boris Speed	Conditional Diffusion for Refinement of Subsurface Reconstructions
Andrew Edler	Dr. Joshua Hamblen	Using Geant4 Simulations to Analyze the Edge Effect at the Nab Experiment
Gloria Habiyaremye	Dr. John Swanson	Built on their backs: profiting off of forced labor within concentration camps
Stewart Huggins	Professor Ethan McDaniel	Nashville Marimba Sessions
Alexa Key	Dr. John Swanson	Failed Justice: Prosecution and Result of the Mittelbau-Dora Concentration Camp Trials
Mallory Lehman		The Conditions of the Mittelbau-Dora Subcamps
Kaya Luckhoo	Dr. Zakia Tasnim	Stabilization of Tennessee Clay using waste-derived eggshell powder
Rachael Miller	Dr. Luis Sanchez-Diaz	Electrical Characterization of Gramicidin A Ion Channels in Artificial Lipid Bilayers at Varying HCl Concentrations
Brooke Murphree		Repackaging Authenticity: How Vietnam Designs Tourism for Global
Gabriella O’Brien		Gen Z’s Produce Storage Knowledge
Thanh Pham		Payment Culture and Technology: Vietnam and the United States
Ellyellen Ramos		Cultural Strategy in Tourism: Marketing Vietnam to Global Travellers
Natalie Rivas	Dr. Lisa Piazza	Vietnam Searches for Ways to Bring AI Building Skills Into Their Classrooms
Alec Smith-Ellis	Dr. Keenan Dungey	Two Dimensional Crystals Observed by STM
Benjamin Stetson	Dr. Andrew Turgeson Christopher Frishcosy	Antimicrobial Surfacing

The post Congratulations to the 2026 UTC Fall Research Conference Participants! appeared first on Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavor.

The Office for URaCE Participates in the UTC Study Abroad Fair!

Melissa Glosup — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 14:38:09 +0000

Thanks to all of the students who stopped by our table during the Study Abroad fair this week. We look forward to working with many of you next summer! Learn more about Study Abroad Research Programs.

The post The Office for URaCE Participates in the UTC Study Abroad Fair! appeared first on Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavor.

Inaugural Office for URaCE Welcome Week Student Research Panel

Melissa Glosup — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 14:37:07 +0000

Thanks to all the students and panelists who joined us for our fall student research panel discussion during the first week of the semester.

Panelists

Abby Borden majors in anthropology and studied textile weaving in Peru this summer as part of a research study -abroad program.

Gracie Crooks is a senior Applied Mathematics Major with a minor in Physics, specializing in Quantum Information Science. She plans on going to graduate school to earn a PhD in Applied Math/Quantum Information Science after graduation.

A.P. Horn is currently pursuing a Master’s of Secondary Education degree at UTC. As an undergraduate, he participated in physics research and presented at several conferences.

Colin Keeter is an electrical engineering student with extensive research and presentation experience. Colin completed a highly competitive research internship this summer.

Mattie Tabor: Mattie Tabor is an English major and writing tutor. She has conducted research for the last two years and presented at the National Conference on Peer Tutoring in Writing.

The post Inaugural Office for URaCE Welcome Week Student Research Panel appeared first on Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavor.

Fall Office Hours Announced!

Melissa Glosup — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 15:14:36 +0000

Fall Office Hours: The Office for URaCE is pleased to announce Undergraduate Research Office Hours! If you are curious about undergraduate research opportunities and want to learn how participating in undergraduate research can help you develop skills and make you competitive for future careers, you should attend a session to get all your UR questions answered! Office for URaCE staff will help you get started in UR, find funding, and locate paid UR opportunities on campus and beyond. We look forward to helping you begin your UR journey this fall!

Dates: Thursday, September 17, 3:30-5 pm | Wednesday, October 7, 3:30-5 pm

Location: LIB 209

RSVP to URaCE fall office hours

The post Fall Office Hours Announced! appeared first on Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavor.

Office for URaCE Launches Micro-Credentialing Program!

Melissa Glosup — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 15:11:53 +0000

We are excited to announce that beginning in the fall semester, students who participate in Office for Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavor (URaCE) programs and instructional training will have the opportunity to earn micro-credentials as they learn about and prepare for success in research and research adjacent activities. Program participants will earn skills badges and certificates to showcase research and career readiness skills. The competency-based model is built around the eight career readiness skills outlined by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). Read the Council for Undergraduate Research document guiding this work.

The post Office for URaCE Launches Micro-Credentialing Program! appeared first on Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavor.