A record-breaking 937 undergraduates at the University of Georgia will present their research at the 27th annual CURO Symposium on April 20-21 at the Classic Center in downtown Athens — an increase of 200-plus students over the 2025 event.
Hosted by the Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities, the 2026 CURO Symposium begins on April 20 at 8:15 a.m. and includes 221 oral presentations and 533 posters. The students participating are pursuing 144 different majors. Collectively, they are conducting research with 371 faculty members in 142 departments.
During the two-day event, undergraduates will present individually and in teams at oral and poster sessions. This year’s presentations cover a wide range of projects including detecting canine heat stress through wearable sensors and a mobile app, digitizing historical clothing collections, why memes challenge the foundations of intellectual property, improving care for patients with diabetes, identity and art for community resilience, the relationship between caffeine intake and visual processing speed, and studying cave water quality, among others.
“The CURO Symposium is a wonderful opportunity to see the impact of undergraduate research at UGA, and we are honored to host this signature event each year,” said Andrea Silletti, program coordinator for the Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities. “Our numbers are growing, our students are excited, and our goal is to provide the campus community with an opportunity to see the outstanding research being conducted here at UGA.”
The 2026 CURO Symposium will begin with oral sessions earlier on April 20 to align with the new class schedule; sessions will start at 8:15 a.m. CURO will also host an introduction to mentoring session for graduate students on April 20 from 1:15-2:35 p.m. in Athena Room D. Finally, the symposium will include a special, two-day Café CURO in Athena Room A that provides additional opportunities for students, mentors and others to discuss undergraduate research in an informal setting over coffee, tea and cookies.
Maryann E. Gallagher, director of the Richard B. Russell Security Leadership Program and a senior lecturer in the School of Public and International Affairs, will deliver the 2026 CURO Symposium keynote address at 3 p.m. in Athena Ballroom E. The CURO mentoring awards, CURO best paper awards and UGA Libraries undergraduate research awards will also be presented during this session.
The poster session and reception will follow at 4 p.m. in Grand Hall South and the Atrium.
Oral presentations will continue April 21 at 8:15 a.m. with the last session ending at 4:15 p.m.
On both days of the symposium, a UGA campus transit bus marked “Special” will provide transportation to the Classic Center, with stops at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education & Hotel, the Tate Student Center and the Arch.
The CURO Symposium is sponsored by the Jere W. Morehead Honors College, Office of the President, Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, Office of Instruction, Vertically Integrated Projects for Research Program, Office of Research, Parents Leadership Council, Graduate School and the UGA Libraries.
For more information, visit https://curo.uga.edu/symposium/.