The Week in UR - January 29, 2026

Happy almost Friday! At this busy time of the academic year, The Week in UR is coming to you one day early this week, primarily because we’ve got an exciting opportunity coming up tomorrow, and I want to be sure that both student researchers and faculty mentors are aware of it. There are also two additional UR-related events next week, so now is a good time to get the word out.

First and foremost, the Organization for Student Pursued Undergraduate Research (OSPUR), our undergraduate research student organization, will host TSC’s first annual Research Mentoring Fair tomorrow, January 30, from 2:00 to 4:00, in the Student Union Ballroom. One of the most important requirements for students wishing to participate in TSC’s Undergraduate Research Symposium, or any of the UR Program’s other research opportunities, is for students to secure a faculty mentor to supervise their research. Tomorrow’s event will provide students with an opportunity to interact with research mentors, and maybe even secure a mentor that very day. Attendees will also have an opportunity to hear more about the UR Program, OSPUR, and how TSC students can get involved in undergraduate research at TSC. All are welcome to attend!

Next week will bring even more opportunities for the TSC community to learn about undergraduate research and celebrate our student researchers. Next Thursday, February 5, from 3:00-4:00, in the TSC Library, room 265, the Editorial Board of the TSC Undergraduate Research Journal (TSC URJ) will host a launch party to celebrate publication of TSC URJ 1.1, the first issue of the College’s peer-reviewed journal of student research. Few other community colleges, if any, have managed to launch a true peer-reviewed journal of student research. Needless to say, this represents a significant accomplishment for the College, and most especially for our student authors. As with all of our events, all are welcome to attend, and we very much encourage all student researchers, research mentors, and sundry friends of the UR Program to help us celebrate the accomplishments of our student authors.

Finally, OSPUR will host yet another event next Friday, February 6, from 2:00 to 4:00, in room MLH 151, to help fellow students in preparing abstracts for the upcoming Undergraduate Research Symposium. The deadline for students to submit an abstract to present their research at TSC’s Seventh Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium is Wednesday, February 18. This is one of the best ways for students to get involved in undergraduate research, and the event next Friday is a great way to learn more about it. Additional information about TSC’s UR symposium, including presentation formats, research project requirements, and resources to help with writing an abstract can be found, as always, on our website: www.tsc.fl.edu/research.

One final note of celebration to share: Four TSC students, Moises Chacon, Sunny Thomas, Mikayli Ingram, and Antares Jonstar Ciotti, were selected to participate in FURA Posters at the Capitol this past Tuesday, January 27, presenting research posters in the Florida State Capitol rotunda. TSC was one of just two Florida College System institutions to have ever participated. This statewide event, sponsored by the Florida Undergraduate Research Association (FURA), drew students from higher education institutions throughout the state of Florida. Its purpose was to demonstrate to Florida lawmakers the value of investing in undergraduate research as a best practice capable of engaging undergraduate students in learning the high-level technical skills needed to develop the state’s workforce. We’re so proud of our four student presenters!

That’s it for this week. The Week in UR will be back, in the next week or two, with another rundown of all things UR at TSC. I hope all readers of this newsletter will consider joining us for one or more of our upcoming events this week. There is much to choose from! And with frigid temperature holding tight to the Florida Panhandle, isn’t this a great time to be indoors, sharing good company and talking about research? I hope you’ll decide to do just that.

The Week in UR - January 16, 2026

Happy Friday! As we round out this first full week of spring semester classes at TSC, we’re beginning to enter what is the busiest season in the world of undergraduate research (UR, for the uninitiated). It will be a semester filled with activity, and you’ll hear much more about it in the weeks ahead if you keep up with this little newsletter. Here I’ll provide the briefest of roundups of just a few of the upcoming events, opportunities, and deadlines approaching in the coming weeks.

First and foremost, the deadline for students to submit an abstract to present their research at TSC’s Seventh Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium is Wednesday, February 18, which, by my count, is just about four weeks away. TSC’s UR Symposium is open to all enrolled TSC students, as well as those who have graduated in the past two years, and we strongly encourage every student who has carried out research at TSC during this time to submit an abstract. Additional information about TSC’s UR symposium, including presentation formats, research project requirements, and resources to help with writing an abstract can be found, as always, on our website: www.tsc.fl.edu/research.

One of the most important requirements for students wishing to participate in TSC’s Undergraduate Research Symposium, or any of the UR Program’s other research opportunities, is for students to secure a faculty mentor to supervise their research. For any student who hasn’t yet found a mentor, the Organization for Student Produced Undergraduate Research (OSPUR), our undergraduate research student organization, will host TSC’s first annual Research Mentoring Fair on January 30, from 2:00 to 4:00, in the Student Union Ballroom. There students will have the opportunity to interact with research mentors, and maybe even secure a mentor that very day. Attendees will also have an opportunity to hear more about the UR Program, OSPUR, and how TSC students can get involved in undergraduate research at TSC. All are welcome to attend!

Finally, one of this year’s most exciting developments in UR at TSC was publication of the very first issue of the TSC Undergraduate Research Journal (TSC URJ 1.1). Few other community colleges, if any, have managed to launch a true peer-reviewed journal of student research before. Needless to say, this represents a significant accomplishment for the College, and most especially for our student authors. To celebrate this historic milestone, the TSC URJ Editorial Board will host a launch party to celebrate publication of TSC URJ 1.1, to be held Thursday, February 5, from 3:00-4:00, in the TSC Library, room 265. As with all of our events, all are welcome to attend, and we very much encourage all student researchers, research mentors, and sundry friends of the UR Program to help us celebrate the accomplishments of our student authors. Below is a smart-looking graphic that should help in spreading the word, if you're so inclined. (Thanks to Dr. Donya Samara for doing the design!)

That’s it for this week. The Week in UR will be back, in the next week or two, with another summation of all things UR at TSC. Until then, I wish you all a delightful wintry weekend, with hopes all around that we might see a blanket of snow atop Florida’s capital city for a second year running. Could it be? Almost certainly not. And yet…the old digital mercury did hit 25 on my way in this morning. So one can dream.