Welcome to the VTURCS Homepage!

The purpose of the VTURCS program is to encourage Computer Science undergraduate students to become involved in research. The faculty and students involved in VTURCS agree that research is one of the most valuable programs that a student can participate in during their undergraduate education. That's why VTURCS provides a web database where faculty can list their research opportunities so that interested students can find them. We also run an annual Fall Project Fair where various research groups come to talk about opportunities in their area. In the Spring, student researchers present their research to other students, faculty, interested members of the public, and a distinguished panel of judges that includes professors as well as representatives from industry leaders.

Spring Symposium 2012 Scheduled

Mark your calendar for the VTURCS Research Symposium on April 25th from 4:30pm to 6:30pm. This year, it will take place in Owens Banquet Hall--food will be available for all in attendance!. All students are invited to attend and assist in the selection of the "People's Choice" awards. We will have, as usual, industry representatives from the CSRC, faculty from our Department, and lots of students. Come join the fun, and see the cool research our undergraduates are doing.

Please, keep in mind the following deadlines.

  1. Monday April 23rd @ 8AM (MORNING) - Poster due, see the preparation instructions below and these formatting details. By 8am on Monday April 23rd, fill out this short form to request printing of your poster. Printer requests that are submitted via email will not be printed.
  2. Monday April 23rd @ 8AM (MORNING) - Abstract due, see the preparation instructions below. You must submit your abstract online using the Submit Abstracts link to the right. No abstract will be accepted via email.
  3. Wednesday April 25th @ 8AM - Printed posters will be available for pick up in the CS department, KWII (CRC). You must pick up your poster there and bring it to the event location. We will not do this for you.
  4. Wednesday April 25th @ 3:30-4:30pm - Setup your posters in the Owens Banquet Hall. We provide all the materials, but you have to do the work.
  5. Wednesday April 25th @ 4:30pm - Industry and Faculty judges begin their rounds. Your poster has to be ready by this time and one of the students in the project needs to be available to answer questions from the judges.
  6. Wednesday April 25th @ 5:00pm - Doors open to public, let the fun begin!
  7. Wednesday April 25th @ 6:15pm - Awards are announced. Good luck to all!

Preparing your abstract

To prepare your abstract for the VTURCS Spring Symposium, we recommend that you follow the following steps.

  1. Your abstract will be printed in a booklet that will be made available to industry representatives. Make sure you take care in writing it.
  2. You can see some sample abstracts from previous years at the page online. The abstract cannot be more than 400 words long.
  3. Verify your abstract by discussing it with your advisor and other students that have been collaborating with you.
  4. Once the abstract is ready, submit is using the Submit Abstracts link to the right.

Preparing your poster

To produce your poster for the VTURCS Spring Symposium, we recommend that you follow the following steps.

  1. Prepare your poster according to these guidelines.
  2. Verify your poster by discussing it with your advisor and other students that have been collaborating with you.
  3. Once the poster is ready, upload it to your filebox account.
  4. Once uploaded, fill out this short form to request printing of your poster. You will have to provide a URL to the server where your poster is stored. Make sure you have tested that URL so we can print your poster.
  5. Your poster will be ready to pick up at the CS Department office the day of the Spring Symposium.

Spring Research Symposium 2011

The Spring Research Symposium 2011 took place on April 27th from 5pm to 6:30pm in the McBryde Undergraduate Learning Center in McBryde 106. The results of the symposium are shown in the Spring 2011 Results page. We look forward to seeing everyone at this spring's symposium!

Why get involved?

Students join VTURCS for a variety of reasons:

Participating in research shows you go above and beyond the normal curriculum for undergraduate studies. Whether you're thinking about graduate school or a job after college, you will benefit from VTURCS. It shows you're someone who fits into the above categories and has experience working on real projects that make contributions to the world of computer science. Students who have worked on undergraduate research at Virginia Tech have gone on to work at top companies like Microsoft and Lockheed Martin, and to school at top graduate institutions like UNC, CMU, Penn State, and, of course, Virginia Tech!