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Three students from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the ´óÏó´«Ã½ College of Engineering and Computer Science have been recognized with Honorable Mentions for their research , having been nominated for the Computing Research Association's (CRA) 2024-2025 Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award .

The CRA supports initiatives like the Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award , which recognizes promising talent, and ensure s equitable opportunities for all in computing research. By uniting stakeholders, CRA plays a crucial role in advancing innovation and solving complex challenges through computing. The awards, open to all undergraduate students enrolled in North American institutions, provide outstanding students with acknowledgment for their hard work, as their achievements are highlighted within the computing research community. ÌýThe faculty and their academic institutions also gain recognition for their role in fostering research talent among their students.

Three undergraduate researchers from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in the College of Engineering and Computer Science earned Honorable Mentions in the Computing Research Association's (CRA) Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Awards. Our students' work was recognized alongside contributions from the nation's leading research institutions, placing them in the company of top undergraduate researchers across North America. This recognition of three of the four maximum nominees allowed reflects the exceptional quality of U ndergraduate research emerging from our program.

The three nominees from are : Ayush Gowda ( Computer Engineering with a minor in AI ), Carter Nichols ( Electrical Engineering ), and Jefferson Charles ( Computer Engineering ). All three students were Seniors, graduated in Dec 2024. Carter is pursuing an MS in E lectrical Engineering, and Jefferson is pursuing MS C omputer E ngineering . Their achievements, which stand out among many participants from top institutions, include:

Ayush Gowda : Ayush has actively participated in research opportunities related to state of-the-art computer vision methods, utilizing them successfully in autonomous robotic system s . H e examined several mathematical algorithms and approaches to determine visual threats and direction of motion of moving vehicles and prepared them for use in a real-time closed-loop feedback system. He has published various papers and been awarded six grants with the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Office of Undergraduate Research, as well as having presented at multiple conferences such as IEEE, OURI Symposium, NCUR and in the Palm Beach Regional Science and Engineering Fair, where he won first place. He also achieved 4th place twice at the State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida in 2022 and 2023. In 2024, he was named ´óÏó´«Ã½â€™s Undergraduate Researcher of the Year . ÌýAyush has served as a Teaching Assistant and has mentored freshmen students interested in research throughout the lifecycle of the research process .

Carter Nichols: Carter Nichols focuses on the modeling, control, and hardware-in-the-loop testing of marine current turbines.Ìý Demonstrating a rare combination of technical expertise, independence, and teamwork, Carter has contributed to advancing marine energy systems by proposing innovative methods to enhance their stability, efficiency, and security. He has co-authored four peer-reviewed journal and conference papers, including one in the prestigious Renewable Energy journal, and plays a lead role in projects funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and Florida Power & Light. Beyond his research, Carter is an outstanding communicator and collaborator, managing group operations and fostering a positive, productive team environment.

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Jefferson Charles : Jefferson has worked on various exciting research project s, including one on collaborative intelligence in autonomous robotics. As a research assistant, he worked on the development of a dataset collection toolkit for the Unitree Go1 quadruped robot, addressing the shortage of high-quality video datasets critical for machine learning applications in robotics. His contributions extend to developing APIs, documenting the robot’s capabilities, and enabling efficient real-time machine-to-machine communication. Beyond his technical expertise, Jefferson has demonstrated strong leadership by onboarding new team members, delivering talks to undergraduate students, and actively participating in community engagement activities such as the National Society of Black Engineers convention.

The College of Engineering and Computer Science would like to congratulate these students for their outstanding achievements and wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors.