This year’s UTC Spring Research and Arts Conference will feature 352 unique presentations and more than 710 presenters, highlighting projects from across the University, as well as research contributions from visiting high school students.
photo by Angela Foster/UTC
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s annual Spring Research and Arts Conference returns to campus on Wednesday, April 15, bringing together hundreds of student researchers, faculty mentors and community partners to present their work and share ideas across disciplines.
This year’s conference, which will take place at McKenzie Arena and the Wolford Family Athletic Center, will feature 352 unique presentations and more than 710 presenters, highlighting projects from across the University as well as research contributions from visiting high school students.
Presented by UTC’s Office for Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavor (URaCE), the annual conference serves as the University’s largest showcase of student and faculty research and creative work.
URaCE Executive Director Lisa Piazza said the conference offers an opportunity for the entire campus community to gather in one place to share the work occurring in laboratories, classrooms and field sites throughout the year.
“This is really our one moment each year when the entire research community at UTC comes together in the same space,” Ms.
Piazza said. “Students from every college are presenting work they’ve been developing with faculty mentors, and it gives people a chance to see the incredible range of ideas and creativity happening across campus.”
This year’s conference also includes high school presenters representing seven area schools: Baylor School, Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences, Brainerd High School, Tyner Middle High Academy, Girls Preparatory School, East Hamilton High School and Signal Mountain Middle High School.
The conference will also feature the Mocs Innovate! Innovators Showcase, where faculty and researchers will present early-stage innovations ranging from artificial intelligence tools to urban data systems and emerging technologies. The Mocs Innovate! presenters and their innovations:
• Megan Cales, coordinator of career engagement in the Decosimo Success Center, Gary W. Rollins College of Business: Upgrading the Brooks Band wearable to include a clip-on microphone to enhance voice capture.
• Dr. Mehdi Khaleghian, postdoctoral research fellow, Center for Urban Informatics and Progress: Multispectral drone system to enhance urban infrastructure and agricultural intelligence.
•Dr. Shahnewaz Karim Sakib, assistant professor, College of Engineering and Computer Science: AI system for course design and management for accreditation.
• Dr. Maged Shoman, research assistant professor, UT–Oak Ridge Innovation Institute, Center for Urban Informatics and Progress: Systems platform for predicting grocery demand and short-range autonomous robots for delivery from microhubs.
• Dr. Weidong Wu, professor of civil engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science: Crash-free web interface for statistical analysis and report generation.
Several special sessions will highlight emerging areas of study, including panels on applied mathematics, artificial intelligence in teaching and learning, and the intersection of science and art.
Another session will introduce campus resources related to geographic information systems, led by Charlie Mix and Nyssa Hunt in the UTC Center for Applied Geospatial Data Science, giving participants an overview of tools available to support geospatial research and mapping projects.