From cybersecurity to better mental health care to early medieval runic writing and even theme park design, each University Research Day is a showcase of the diversity of the educational experience and culture of discovery at The Catholic University of America.
The ninth annual URD on Wednesday, April 17 will be an in-person and virtual event that will begin with welcome remarks from University President Peter Kilpatrick, a chemical engineer who owns or co-owns 12 patents and has published more than 100 journal articles. Provost Aaron Dominguez, a physicist who has helped crack the code to the secrets of the universe, will follow with an address on the state of research at the University.
Celebrating academic excellence in all fields is a cherished tradition at the heart of The Catholic University of America’s culture. That’s why University Research Day is the only academic event each year for which classes are canceled for the entire day.
This year’s keynote is Jeffrey Herrmann, professor and St. Abbo of Fleury Chair of Engineering, who will be speaking about harnessing our unique power to employ “metareasoning,” or our ability to think about thinking, in our decision making.
Herrmann said he is honored to headline his first-ever University Research Day and connect with fellow big thinkers and innovators.
“We’re a research university, and there is so much research happening on campus; I'm looking forward to learning about what our students have discovered and the innovations that they're creating,” said Hermann.
Last year’s presentations spanned from art history to quantum chemistry, and this year’s projects are expected to be just as diverse. Hundreds are expected to come to explore a range of oral and poster presentations by students, faculty, and staff; enjoy live musical performances and a film festival; and learn about campus research organizations.
“The blend of research and scholarship displayed at Research Day — from engineering and chemistry to the humanities, philosophy, theology and religious Studies, and canon law — can not be found at any other research university in the United States,” said Associate Professor and Chair of Engineering Christopher Raub, who is co-chairing this year’s organizing committee with Biochemistry Chair and Associate Professor Gregory Miller.
The event will culminate with a ceremony where awards will be presented honoring faculty, First Year Experience essay, student oral presentations, and student poster presentations. All presentations and posters will be made available online at the University’s Digital Repository.