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 invited to present in the finals. Winners from the finals round will receive cash prizes. 

In 2021, more than 165 master's and PhD candidates shared their innovative and purposeful research with the WPI community and 63 students advanced to the finals. Twenty winners were awarded cash prizes after the finals.

See our list of current and past GRIE winners.

2023 Plans

• GRIE Celebration will take place on February 8, 2023.
• Students will have the opportunity to have their research, presented on a poster, seen by all those in attendance and receive feedback.  Within 5 days of the Celebration event, students will submit a digital picture of their poster and will provide a recording (Zoom) of themselves verbally presenting their research. Details of this process will be provided.  A digital image of your poster and recorded Zoom presentation will be used by the judges to determine which student will move on to the final live presentation round held on April 4, 2023.
•  Links to the presentations will only be provided to judges and the WPI community.
• A public program with title, author, advisor, keywords, and technical statement will be posted to the GRIE page. Please note the public file will not include presentation links to protect intellectual property.
• Judges will have one week to evaluate assigned presentations and submit their scores and feedback.

Registration

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, attendees, and judges. 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 December 2, 2022, but if you sign up by November 18, 2022, you will be entered into a raffle for a chance to win WPI Prizes.

To register, click here

*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.
• 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 and only this student will be considered for awards.
• Only one presentation will be accepted per student; it is the student’s responsibility to have his/her presentation recorded according to competition guidelines.
• Presentations should be a zoom recording, featuring a poster, and should be 7 minutes or less in length. Longer submissions will not be judged and will not be eligible for the finals. For submissions exceeding the allowed 7-minute recording time, the GRIE organizers will decide if the presentation can still be including in the GRIE program, even if not to be judged.
• Your presentation should clearly identify a project title, researchers involved, and department
• Recordings of presentations must be submitted to GRIE organizers per the specified guidelines by advertised deadlines in order to be posted for judge viewing.
• Prepare your presentation to appeal to both experts and non-experts in your field as judge expertise may vary. You must be able to clearly explain your research to a wide range of judges and audiences.