A field of 178 Kent State University participants in the 9th annual Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) three-minute presentations was narrowed down to 48 first- and second-place winners last week.
Kent State Today was there when the students who won the competition were announced on Oct. 25 at a ceremony at the Kiva auditorium. There, five of the first-place winners were surprised to find out they would present their research once again.
Students majoring in computer science, aerospace engineering, fashion design, neuroscience, sociology and other fields gathered at the Kent Student Center on Oct. 21-22 to present the research they conducted under the direction of faculty mentors. As a top-tier research university, Kent State encourages undergraduate students to work on cutting-edge research with faculty mentors.
Before the winners were announced, Kent State President Todd Diacon said he is proud of the SURE participants and admires them for being able to present their research before an audience.
“I’m always impressed with Kent State’s ability to combine the cutting-edge research that our faculty do with the kind of instruction and research that benefits our students,” Diacon said. “There is no other event that better demonstrates that magical combination than this thesis competition today.”
SURE is sponsored by the Division of Research and Economic Development, the Honors College and the Office of the President. In addition, SURE is supported by several individuals, departments, colleges, institutes and others.
The SURE program, which runs for eight weeks in June and July, provides a stipend for either full or part-time work and offers on-campus housing for participants. Students gain valuable one-on-one experience with a faculty mentor, professional development and scholarship opportunities.
Douglas L. Delahanty, Ph.D., professor and vice president of Research and Economic Development, thanked the SURE participants, the mentors, the judges, parents and donors. The Division of Research and Economic Development has a budget to fund 100 SURE students and 78 students were funded by generous donors. The donations have allowed the program to grow.
In 2022, Kent State was elevated to an “R1” classification by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. R1 (or very high research) is the highest research ranking that Carnegie designates, putting Kent State into a category of the highest 146 research universities in the U.S. out of more than 4,000.
Designations occur every three years and Kent State expects to receive the designation once again in 2025.
Learn more about the SURE program.