Statewide Forum Showcases Graduate Student Research

Pictured clockwise from top: Byron Caswell, Nicole Juersivich, Heriberto Moreno, Lorena Bociu, Mary Nelson, and Erwin Gianchandani
Photo by Roseanne Ford

Top graduate student researchers from the University of Virginia presented their work at the Third Annual Graduate Student Research Forum at the state library in Richmond on February 5.  The event was sponsored by the Virginia Council of Graduate Schools (VCGS) and included participants from 13 of Virginia’s public colleges and universities.

The forum emphasizes the importance of graduate research to economic development in the Commonwealth and the contributions of graduate education to the public good.  Legislators, members of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, and other government officials were in attendance.

Six U.Va. students attended this year’s forum, presenting original research on a variety of important topics including using technology to teach mathematics and mediating the effects of pandemic flu on local economies.  A number of presentations were specifically geared towards the Virginia Research Technology & Advisory Commission’s three defined research priorities for Virginia: energy, conservation, and the environment; future microelectronics; and lifespan biology and medicine.

“The research conducted by graduate students from U.Va. and throughout the state is vitally important to meeting the strategic priorities set forth by the Commonwealth,” says Roseanne Ford, associate vice president for research and graduate studies.  “The VCGS forum provided an excellent opportunity for officials, business leaders, and the public to witness the value of public support for graduate education.”

Erwin Gianchandani, doctoral student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, was one of the U.Va. presenters.  His research in the area of systems biology involves the computational modeling of human cells.  This area of study holds promise for both understanding diseases and drug discovery. 

Gianchandani found the forum useful and enjoyable.  “My personal career aspirations beyond graduate school include working in science policy, and so being able to practice communicating my work to others, including state legislators, in a non-technical way was very exciting and helpful,” he says.  “It was also great to meet graduate students from other schools throughout the Commonwealth, and I think the forum really opened my eyes to all the ground-breaking and diverse research projects that are ongoing.”

U.Va.’s research forum participants included: Lorena Bociu, mathematics; Byron Caswell, systems and information engineering; Erwin Gianchandani, biomedical engineering; Nicole Juersivich, mathematics education; Heriberto Moreno, microbiology; and Mary Nelson, landscape architecture. 

The Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies has posted the forum program online.