Graduate Research Innovation Exchange

About GRIE

True to its name, the Graduate Research Innovation Exchange is a marketplace where students across disciplines get to know each other and share discoveries and new ideas. It is also a great way to get feedback on research in-progress—input that can help students prepare for sharing their work down the line through papers and presentations.

Student presenters also receive input from attendees who are able to vote for People's Choice Awards for their favorite presentations. 

The best presentations by master's, PhD, and post doctoral fellow candidates engaged in research in the categories of Mathematical, Chemical, and Physical Sciences; Business and Social Science; Data Science, Cybersecurity, and Computer Science; Life Sciences and Bioengineering; Robotics, Cyberphysical Systems, Electrical and Computer Engineering; Chemical Engineering and Material Sciences; and Aerospace, Manufacturing, Mechanical, Civil and Environmental, Fire-Protection Engineering are recognized with a GREI People's Choice Award. 

In 2023, more than 145 master's and PhD candidates shared their innovative and purposeful research with the WPI community.

See our list of current and past GRIE winners.

2024 Plans

The 2024 GRIE event, we will be combining GRIE with our annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition as well as our annual prospective PhD student visit event. The GRIE portion of the event will take place in parallel with 3MT in the Rubin Campus Center Odeum, and will still feature research poster presentations by WPI graduate students. However, the big change we are testing out this year is the elimination of poster judging. There will be people’s choice voting and awards, but there will not be a GRIE finals event in April like in prior years. The goal of GRIE has always been to celebrate graduate research, facilitate opportunities for the exchange of ideas, and highlight the innovative work graduate researchers are engaged in. We are hopeful this new GRIE format will help the event meet these goals.   

GRIE and 3MT 2024 Event Details:

When: February 16, 2024 from 3:00 – 4:30 PM in the Campus Center Odeum

What - GRIE: Graduate students present research posters to prospective PhD students, other graduate students, WPI faculty, and other WPI community members. People’s Choice awards given out.

What – 3MT: PhD students present a 3 minute presentation on their research using only a single static slide to an audience of prospective graduate students, other graduate students, WPI faculty, other WPI community members, and a panel of 3MT judges. Awards of $1,000, $500, and $250, will be provided to those selected as the Winner, Runner-up, and People’s Choice, respectively.  

Registration: To register to present a research poster at GRIE or compete in 3MT, please complete this Registration Form. Deadline to register is January 26, 2024. Please note that there will not be a way to present at GRIE and compete in 3MT at the same time.

Registration for GRIE or 3MT

To register:

1. First prepare a few keywords about your research to submit when registering
2. Prepare a 2-3 sentence, non-technical statement that describes what your poster and presentation will be about. No special characters are allowed.
3. Use the to submit your form and complete the registration survey
4. Add Wednesday, February 3 to your calendar as the deadline to submit your recording link to GRIE organizers.

Please note, your keywords and statement will be made available to presenters and attendees. Please be sure you type your information exactly as you’d like it to be viewed. No special characters are allowed. Do not use all caps when submitting your title, keywords, or statement.

The registration deadline is January 26, 2024.

To register, please fill out the Registration Form. Please note that there will not be a way to present at GRIE and compete in 3MT at the same time.

*GRIE organizers reserve the right to change the format and/or eliminate judging based on university status and pandemic considerations.

Sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the Office of Graduate Studies

Research Areas 
Business and Social Science
Life Sciences and Bioengineering
Robotics, Cyberphysical Systems, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Aerospace Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Fire-Protection Engineering
Mathematical, Chemical, and Physical Sciences
Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
Data Science, Cybersecurity, Computer Science, and Interactive Media

Guidelines & Eligibility

• GRIE is open to all WPI PhD candidates, MS students engaged in thesis or similar research, or MS candidates completing a course- or program-related capstone project.
• 3MT is only available to PhD Candidates.
• Although presentations may have multiple authors, including the faculty advisor(s), there should be one lead author registered and presenting. The lead author MUST be the graduate student.
• Only one presentation will be accepted per student; it is the student’s responsibility to have his/her presentation poster printed for the event.
• Your presentation should clearly identify a project title, researchers involved, and department.
• Prepare your presentation to appeal to both experts and non-experts in your field. You must be able to clearly explain your research to a wide range of audiences.