Undergraduate Engineering Research and Design Symposium

Information for the Spring 2022 Undergraduate Research Symposium.

Click here for the schedule and the program!

What is the Undergraduate Engineering Research and Design Symposium?

This year, the Rodman Council is hosting the first ever Undergraduate Engineering Research and Design Symposium on Friday, April 1st, 12-4 pm, in the Rotunda Lower West Oval Room. This is an opportunity for undergraduate engineers to highlight their recent research, design projects, capstone projects or any other work that they wish to share. We will have a poster session and powerpoint talks, with monetary prizes for the winners in each category. All of our judges are UVA faculty members and there will be an option for each participant to receive written feedback from the judges, should they desire specific comments on their talk or poster.

Who can participate?

The research and design symposium is open to UVA undergraduate SEAS students. This is a low-stakes way to practice giving presentations in your career with optional comments from SEAS faculty for improvement in future presentations.

What can be presented?

We welcome any engineering research or design related talks or posters, from undergraduate SEAS students of any year. If you would like to present, please fill out this form to apply. You can edit this form up until the submission deadline (TBA), so even if your title and abstract are not ready, please submit now! This will give us a sense of numbers. If you are unsure whether your work qualifies to be presented at the symposium, the answer is probably “yes!”  Even if you don’t have any research you would like to present, please mark your calendars so that you can support your peers as they present.

Will there be prizes?

1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners in both the talk and poster categories will be selected by faculty judges to receive $200, $100, and $50, respectively, amounting to a total of six prize-winners. Further, all participants will be eligible to receive written feedback from our faculty judges, should they wish.

When/How can I apply?

You can apply through this form! Unfortunately, given time constraints, we will have to set a cap on the number of talk and poster presentations. We will consider all applications received by the priority deadline of 11:59pm, Friday, March 4th. If the number of registrants exceeds our cap, participant decisions will be made with the educational focus of our symposium in mind. Thus, we ask that in their application, registrants answer the question: “Why do you want to participate in this symposium? What do you hope to get out of this experience? (this answer can be as long or as short as you would like, from a phrase to a paragraph),” to help us select participants if our cap is reached. (If you have already submitted your application, please edit your submission to include a brief response to this question.) If there is space still available, we will continue to accept submissions after March 4th on a first come, first serve basis.

Please do not let this cap be a deterrent to your application. If you are unsure whether or not you are qualified to present, you are. If you are unsure whether or not your project is qualified to be presented, it is.

What if I have more questions?

The coordinating team for the first iteration of the Engineering Research and Design Symposium consists of Emily Chang (1st-Year CS, ec5ug@virginia.edu), Peneeta Wojcik (2nd-Year BMe, paw5vrr@virginia.edu), Shannon Hepp (4th Year Civil, slh9qxk@virginia.edu), and Research Co-Chair Emiko Gardiner (4th-Year ES/Physics, ecg6wm@virginia.edu). Please feel free to contact any of us if you have any questions about the symposium.

Rodman Courses

  • Synthesis Design I: ENGR 1410

    Offered exclusively to first-year Rodman Scholars during their first semester, this class replaces the standard ENGR 1620 introduction to engineering class. Instead of focusing on a specific application or area of engineering, Synthesis Design I looks at the engineering design process more generally and applies it to a variety of projects throughout the semester which are designed to emulate real-world engineering. ENGR 1410 is required for Rodman Scholars, but not mid-year applicants.

  • Synthesis Design II: ENGR 1420

    Synthesis Design II is offered exclusively to first-year Rodman Scholars during their second semester and continues the concepts developed in Synthesis Design I. Unlike Synthesis Design I, this second course involves a single group project that lasts the entire semester. Synthesis Design II is required for all Rodman Scholars.

  • Rodman Seminars: ENGR 3580

    Rodman Seminars are 1-credit pass-fail courses that cover various topics chosen by the scholars. There are typically 4-5 seminars offered each semester and are a fun way for Rodmans to explore topics that interest them without a large commitment of time or credits. Please visit the Rodman Seminars page for more information about the classes offered now and in the past. 4 Rodman Seminars (3 for mid-year applicants) are required for graduation.