Research has always been an integral part of UVM, and with more than $260 million in sponsored research funding and increased research rankings, there’s much to celebrate during the Office of Research’s third annual Research Week.

On Monday, April 15, Research Week will kick off with a Research Open House and Raffle at Howe Library from 1 to 3 pm, showcasing the libraries’ services and resources that support research at UVM. Beyond meeting the librarians that assist students and researchers every day, attendees can explore the library and discover its various services like the Center for Multimedia Development Lab, where you might find students exploring worlds in virtual reality or researchers using 3D printers to print models of pollen.

On Tuesday, April 16, the Office of Research will host its Sponsored Research Celebration Luncheon to recognize distinguished researchers across the university.

On Wednesday, April 17, the Graduate College will be hosting a new event, the 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition, an internationally recognized research communication competition that challenges students to present a compelling oration on their research project and its significance in just 180 seconds, in language accessible to a non-specialist audience.

UVM’s first 3MT, held in the Given Medical Building's Carpenter Auditorium from 3:00 to 5:00 pm, will be a celebration of students’ discoveries and will allow the broader community to learn about ongoing research at UVM. The competition assists Ph.D. students with fostering effective presentation and research communication skills: it asks Ph.D. researchers to consolidate their ideas, crystallize their research discoveries, and capture the imagination of their audience. Competitors will be judged on comprehension, content, engagement, and communication.

The public is invited to attend and a cash prize – along with invaluable experience – will be awarded to the first place, second place, and people’s choice winners.

Another new addition to Research Week are Research Open Houses. On Tuesday and Wednesday during Research Week, students, faculty, and staff can visit several research labs, cores, and centers around campus and Vermont including UVM’s Center for Biomedical Innovation, the IMF Lab, the Spatial Analysis Lab, the UVM Greenhouse, the Thompson Zoological Collection, the Marcelle Melosira research vessel, and more.

On Thursday, April 18, Research Week will continue with the Student Research Conference (SRC) in the Davis Center from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. Hosted by UVM’s Office of Fellowships, Opportunities, and Undergraduate Research (FOUR), the SRC is day-long showcase featuring hundreds of students’ research.

Also on Thursday, UVM Innovations will host its annual Invention 2 Venture (I2V) conference at the UVM Alumni House's Silver Pavilion from 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm, pulling together dynamic experts, academic researchers, students, entrepreneurs, and business leaders from across Vermont and New England to talk about how to develop, finance, and protect ideas. They’ll share resources, what’s worked for them, and what can work for anyone who wants to start a venture.

Dominic Endicott will be delivering this year’s keynote address, on “Creating the Knowledge Town,” and Doug Merrill, the Office of Research’s Regional Innovation Officer will be delivering a presentation on the V-GaN Tech Hub, a consortium led by the UVM and including GlobalFoundries and the State of Vermont, which was recently designated as one of 31 Tech Hubs by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration.

Students enrolled in the Academic Research Commercialization (ARC) program will also give presentations on their ventures. ARC is a student-inspired initiative created in 2021 out of the Office of the Vice President for Research and UVM Innovations to provide UVM students, regardless of college or major, with innovative training and experiential learning opportunities to become the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders. It also provides faculty innovators with product and business development support to further the commercialization of discoveries created in their research endeavors.

Research Week will conclude on April 19 by introducing the Planetary Health Initiative, which will engage faculty, students and staff in interdisciplinary research, educational activities, and community engagement to explore the connections between human well-being and the health of the environment. The event, “This is Planetary Health,” held in the Med Ed 200 Sullivan Classroom from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm, will introduce the university community to the Planetary Health Initiative at UVM with a keynote address by Dr. Tom Gillespie from Emory University, who will provide an example of the power and impact of a planetary health approach, followed by a Q&A with Dr. Gillespie and UVM leaders in this field. An RSVP is required to attend this event. Contact Lori Desotell for more information.

Both UVM Innovations and the ARC program will also be hosting an open house on Friday, welcoming provosts, deans, researchers, entrepreneurship professors, across campus, as well as current and past ARC students to talk about the importance ARC has on the educational experience.

For a full schedule of Research Week events and open houses including dates, times, and locations, check here.