Undergraduate Student Research Showcased at RIT Symposium on Aug. 10

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A. Sue Weisler

Teams of RIT students who’ve spent their summer in an entrepreneurial boot camp called the Saunders Summer Start Up Program will be among those presenting their business concepts at the Undergraduate Research Symposium on Aug. 10.

From greening robotics to 3-D printing to improving rapid charge batteries using nanotechnology—these are just a few of the areas of research that undergraduate students will showcase Friday at Rochester Institute of Technology’s 21^st annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. Nearly 200 students from RIT’s nine colleges and other institutes will present throughout the day with oral presentations, poster presentations and exhibitions.

“We are excited about the number of students who will share their scholarly and artistic achievements with the community,” says Ryne Raffaelle, RIT vice president for research. “This is our largest undergraduate symposium ever. All of our students are aspiring innovators in their respective fields and represent the best of RIT.”

More than 450 people are expected to attend. Students worked with their faculty mentors to prepare for the symposium. The sessions are organized by themes: biomedical and life sciences, chemistry and materials, energy and sustainability, modeling and simulations, imaging and optics, and social sciences and humanities. To view the day’s schedule, go to the RIT Undergraduate Research Symposium website and click on program.

The symposium will also feature two keynote speakers. Brandy Pappas, a 2008 RIT graduate, will kick off the day with an address at 8:30 a.m. in Louise M. Slaughter Hall, room 2210. Pappas is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in biophysics at Harvard. Pappas will speak about the importance of undergraduate research in a student’s academic career. Edward Reinfurt, director of the Division of Science, Technology and Innovation at the Empire State Development Corp., will deliver the keynote at 1 p.m. in Louise M. Slaughter Hall, room 2210, about innovation and economic development.