UTC RAVE Alert

Student Pitch Competition

Competitions

Due to an overwhelming response, the time for the 3M Thesis Competition has been extended to accommodate more than 15 pitches!

Graduate Student 3M Thesis© Competition - Tuesday, October 28, 2025, 10:30 - 11:55 am

Undergraduate Student Research Elevator Pitch Competition - Tuesday, October 28, 2025, 1:20 - 2:00 pm

UTC Table
Important Dates
Pitch registration Opens Aug. 24, 2025
Pitch Registration deadline Sept. 21, 2025
Pitch Competitors Selected and Notified by Oct. 3, 2025
Graduate Student 3 Minute Thesis Competition Oct. 28, 2025
Undergraduate Student Elevator Pitch Competition Oct. 28, 2025

Thank You to Our Judges

The UTC Graduate School and the Office for Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavor (URaCE) would like to thank and gratefully acknowledge the UTC faculty, staff, alumni, and community partners who will graciously give their time to serve as pitch competition judges. We are thankful for your support and partnership.

 

Undergraduate Student Research Elevator Pitch Competition

Melissa Callejas, Program Director, Tech Goes Home TN

*Lee Hope, Assistant Director of Youth Services & Community Engagement, Chattanooga Public Library

Lane Wilkinson, MA, MLIS, Director, Research and Instruction, UTC Library

*Larvizo Wright, Chief of Staff to the CEO, Unum Group

 

Graduate Student Three Minute Thesis Pitch Competition

Dr. Manjot Bhussar, Assistant Professor of Strategic Management, UTC College of Business

Jesse Foster, Enrollment Counselor, UTC Mocs One Center

Dr. Natalie Haber, Online Services Librarian & UC Foundation Associate Professor, UTC Library

*Dr. Heather Palmer, Director of English Graduate Studies, UTC College of Arts & Sciences

Azurae Johnson Redmond, Founder, Young Black & Widowed

Emma Vetland, Assistant Technology Manager, UT Research Foundation

*UTC alumni

UTC Table
Name Pitch Title Mentor Department
!Kaye Kaye Anderson Rethinking Oppression Through Intersectionality Dr. Rick Dierenfeldt Political Science & Public Service
Waltkia Clay When Silence Speaks The Loudest: Safety Tap Hannah Hartman Social, Cultural, & Justice Studies
Gracie Crooks Uncovering Hidden Systems: Solving Inverse Problems Dr. Ayça Çetinkaya Mathematics
Eleanor Forrest Automated Evaluation of Student Notes with Generative AI: Agreement with Humans and Links to Exam Performance Dr. Feng Guo Psychology
Joshua Kilgore Automatic and Controlled Processes in the Pathway from Drug Abuse to Addiction: E-Cigarettes Dr. Michael Overton Psychology
Austin McDade Prosthetic Hand Copy Dr. Erkan Kaplanoglu Engineering
William Scannapiego The Politicization of Violence Dr. Sarah Heise Political Science & Public Service
Emilee Teague Keeper's Club: The ultimate resource hub for reptile keepers Dr. Rich Walker Biology
Noah Wyatt A Low-Cost Portable Cosmic Ray Detector for Exploration and Education Dr. Josh Hamblen Physics
UTC Table
Name Pitch Title Mentor Department
Ali Abuelgasim Adaptive Insole Design to Prevent Foot Ulcers in Diabetic Neuropathy Patients Dr. Erkan Kaplanoglu Engineering Management & Technology
Megan Cales Real-Time Feedback as an Intervention for Atypical Prosody Dr. Tom Lyons Business
Hannah Daugherty Decoding Belief: Neural Mechanisms of Conspiracy Message Evaluation Dr. Ricardo Wilhelm Psychology
Deponker Sarker Depto Smarter AI, Safer Streets Dr. Mina Sartipi Computer Science
Chase Guttu Intelligent Active Brace System for the Treatment of Scoliosis Dr. Erkan Kaplanoglu Engineering Management & Technology
Dikshya Karki Uncertainty in Medical Imaging Dr. Yingfeng Wang Computational Science
Brenden Lippard Design of a Tendon Based Exoskeleton Therapy Glove Dr. Erkan Kaplanoglu Engineering Management & Technology
Patrick Lutz The Language of Entrepreneurship: A Comparative Text Analysis of Startup Ecosystems in Global Cities Dr. Philip Roundy Data Analytics
Nishat Tasnim Nisha Identification and Retention of Microplastics in Porous Media Incorporating Organic Materials Dr. Jejal Reddy Bathi Civil & Chemical Engineering
Gage Plott, MS Reverse-Engineering Quantum Potentials with Laplace Inversion & Moment Bounds Dr. Ayça Çetinkaya Computational Science
Maheshi G. Walawwe, PhD Student Invasive Species Management Dr. Lakmali Weerasena Computational Science
Chinthaka Weerarathna Understanding and managing frogeye leaf spot through network-based modeling in soybean Dr. Jin Wang and Dr. Thien Le Mathematics
Krishani Weerasinghe The Quality of Life of Final Year Undergraduate Students at the University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka Professor Xiunan Wang Mathematics
Luke Wiley Sucking up or sabotaging others: Responses to perceived job insecurity Dr. Christopher Cunningham Psychology

Special thank you to the Hatch It! Lab for their assistance and expertise in producing the 3D-printed awards, and to Office for URaCE Student Assistant April Horn for their exceptional work on the award design. 

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Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavor

Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavor

Department Hours
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