Celebrating Undergraduate Research at the Summer Research Symposium
This year’s Summer Research Symposium created quite the buzz at the Popp Martin Student Union! Hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR), the event drew nearly 150 student presenters who delivered both poster and oral presentations. Participants represented disciplines across campus—including Education, Engineering, Data Science, and Arts & Architecture—highlighting the scope of scholarship at UNC Charlotte.
“I’m excited that the diversity of students and work continue to grow at events like the Summer Research Symposium,” shared OUR Director, Dr. Lance Barton. “This year we had more undergraduates, more majors represented, and a greater balance in participation that highlights the breadth of students and opportunities at the University.”
The July 25th Symposium showcased more than 90 OUR Scholars, 31 from the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) and the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) programs, and 31 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) teachers who participated in the Charlotte Teachers Institute run by the College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences.
“2024 and 2025 have been our two largest Summer Research Symposia, but this year in-person attendance and engagement with our community increased almost 30%,” shared Dr. Barton.
Maxwell Sommer, Junior Mechanical Engineering student with a Biomedical concentration, presented his work on designing a transparent minimally invasive surgical device utilizing laser power and fiber optics to improve surgeon visibility and outcomes.
“Presenting at the symposium was a valuable experience that deepened my understanding of how research extends across all professions and areas of interest,” shared Sommer. “It challenged me to convey complex ideas from my research in a clear and accessible way to an audience with diverse backgrounds.”
The event wasn’t just about showcasing research. Sommer and the other presenters gained valuable experience honing their communication skills—an essential part of sharing ideas, fostering understanding, and inspiring support. Together, these experiences mark a vital step in preparing the next generation of researchers.
Sommer shared, “This experience significantly improved my ability to communicate complex information effectively, which will be very beneficial in the future.”
“It is really important for our students to have an audience for their presentations and I am tremendously excited by the community support,” shared Dr. Barton, who is excited about this year’s in-person and virtual presence.
Like in previous years, the 2025 Summer Research Symposium was a hybrid event, allowing people to see the presentations online, and giving the student and CMS researchers another avenue to share their work. At the publishing of this story, there were already over 1,800 visits and over 1,200 presentation views online. Those presentations are still available online here.
Here are a few fast facts about the 2025 URC:
- 147 presentations
- 160 authors
- 85 faculty & staff mentors
- 9 oral presentations
- 138 poster presentations
If you’re interested in attending the next OUR symposium, mark your calendars for November 21, 2025. That’s when OUR will host the Honors Research Symposium at the DuBois Center at the City Center Campus, followed by the Undergraduate Research Conference (URC) on April 24, 2026.
In the interim, OUR encourages anyone/organizations looking for partnerships to expand student opportunities to contact OUR directly.
Dr. Barton hopes the interest and participation will continue to grow. “We just launched a student mini-grants program to encourage student creativity through research as well as a new community-engaged research program with non-profit community partners,” shared Dr. Barton.
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