Editor's Welcome

Welcome to the University of Central Florida Undergraduate Research Journal. The journal is a premier showcase of undergraduate research at UCF. This multi-disciplinary journal also reflects the University of Central Florida’s commitment to undergraduate scholarship. The journal facilitates faculty and undergraduate student interactions through university research initiatives along with a mentored publication — the UCF URJ.

The University of Central Florida encourages all students to participate in research-based academic discourse by providing a forum in which students may submit articles for formal review and publication. Through the Office of Undergraduate Research, the URJ offers a means of disseminating and bridging knowledge across the disciplines in order to support research initiatives for the University and the Orlando-metro community. Specifically, the role of the University of Central Florida Undergraduate Research Journal in the academic community is two-fold:

  1. To encourage, recognize, and reward intellectual scholarship of undergraduate students beyond the classroom and into the academic community.
  1. To provide a forum for undergraduates and faculty to exchange ideas as well as to share research opportunities through publication in the journal.

We at the journal aim for undergraduate students to become excited and involved in research and subsequently, publication. By offering a positive publication experience, we hope to entice undergraduate students to pursue future publication endeavors and ultimately, graduate studies. On behalf of the in the University of Central Florida Undergraduate Research Journal we look forward to facilitating a collaboration between faculty and undergraduate students for the purpose of scholarship. I hope that this website will encourage faculty and students to learn more about the journal and the plethora of possibilities that undergraduate research can offer our communities. And, I eagerly encourage undergraduate students to submit their manuscripts!

Sincerely,

Margot Reynolds Lagowski

Editor, University of Central Florida Undergraduate Research Journal

Mission

The University of Central Florida Undergraduate Research Journal’s mission showcases articles of exemplary works from a wide range of student scholarship in all fields accorded by the University of Central Florida. Also, the mission includes sharing undergraduate student scholarship in a timely and comprehensive manner as an electronic publication. The journal will seek outstanding research submitted by undergraduate students who have been involved in faculty-mentored research projects and activities related to scholarship.