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.
Why get involved?
Students join VTURCS for a variety of reasons:
- Seeking something more challenging than regular classes.
- Wanting to work on a project that's in-depth enough to require more than just a semester.
- Thinking about graduate school and wanting to test the waters.
- Looking for a more personal interaction with faculty beyond regular classroom settings.
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!
Spring Research Symposium 2009
The Spring Research Symposium 2009 took place on April 30th at 5pm in the new McBryde Undergraduate Learning Center in McBryde 106. Fifteen students submitted abstracts and posters to the symposium, with judging by faculty members and representatives from the department's Computer Science Resources Consortium (CSRC). Prizes and awards were given to the top posters in three categories: Faculty Choice, Industry Choice, and People's Choice.
The results of this year's symposium are shown in the Spring 08 Results page. Signup for fall projects is under way, and we look forward to seeing everyone at next spring's symposium!