The doors to Digital Futures stood open as attendees packed shoulder to shoulder into the first event of Research + Innovation Week 2026. Conversations spilled into the hallway, faculty and industry leaders leaned forward to catch every word, and excitement buzzed through the building as UC welcomed Thales as Digital Futures’ first industrial research partner.
That energy carried throughout the week.
Hosted across campus from April 13-17, Research + Innovation Week 2026 showcased the breadth of UC’s research enterprise, bringing together faculty, students, industry partners and community leaders for five days of panels, poster sessions, lectures, networking events and celebrations of scholarly achievement.
The week began at Digital Futures with the Thales Welcome Event and AI Poster Session, highlighting a growing partnership between UC and the global aerospace, defense and space technology company. Thales’ new presence within the Digital Futures building marks a major step forward in UC’s commitment to advancing applied, industry-connected research.
The AI Poster Session immediately followed, filling the building with researchers discussing projects spanning artificial intelligence, robotics, advanced computing and data science. Students and faculty clustered around posters, exchanging ideas with industry representatives and collaborators from across disciplines.
Later that afternoon, UC faculty and industry leaders gathered for a panel discussion examining how academia can better collaborate with industry and government laboratories. Moderated by Interim Dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science Marty Emmert, the panel featured representatives from organizations including Thales, Booz Allen, and the Air Force Research Laboratory.
The discussion offered junior faculty and emerging researchers insight into building long-term collaborative relationships that extend beyond individual grants or projects.
Research + Innovation Week continued with the annual State of Research + Innovation address, where Interim Vice President for Research Frank Gerner highlighted the continued growth of UC’s research enterprise despite ongoing national challenges facing higher education and federal research funding.
Emphasizing the connections between research and innovation, the state of research was followed by the state of innovation. Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer Ryan Hays showcasing progress within the Cincinnati Innovation District and the expanding impact of UC’s innovation ecosystem.
On the second day of the week, events spread across campus.
The School of Information Technology hosted its annual IT Expo, where undergraduate and graduate students presented projects in cybersecurity, cloud computing, virtual reality, mobile development, networking and data analytics. The public-facing event connected students directly with faculty, alumni and industry professionals.
The Graduate College hosted a panel discussion titled “What is Research?” exploring how universities define and support scholarship across disciplines ranging from traditional laboratory research to creative practice and interdisciplinary inquiry.
That evening, Digital Futures welcomed defense industry leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs for the inaugural Emergent Defense Forum, hosted in partnership with Emergent Defense Magazine. The event featured keynote speaker Zach Mears, vice president of strategy at defense technology company Anduril Industries, followed by an extended networking reception connecting researchers and industry professionals.
Research + Innovation Week’s third day highlighted both creative scholarship and ethical inquiry.
The Graduate College’s Creative Works Showcase featured research posters, musical performances, art and design projects, short talks and interdisciplinary presentations from graduate students and faculty across the university.
Later that day, Digital Futures hosted physician, bioethicist and author Dr. Robert Klitzman for a discussion surrounding his book Doctor, Will You Pray for Me?: Medicine, Chaplains, and Healing the Whole Person. Sponsored by CCTST, the event brought together physicians, chaplains and healthcare professionals from across Cincinnati to discuss spirituality, ethics and patient care in modern medicine.
Klitzman continued those conversations the following day during the Hutton Ethics Lecture hosted by the College of Medicine, while the Graduate College offered a virtual workshop with Sage Publishing focused on authorship, collaboration and research writing practices.
The week concluded with student-centered showcases highlighting research across UC’s colleges.
The College of Allied Health Sciences hosted its annual Scholarly Showcase, featuring poster presentations from undergraduate and graduate students across allied health disciplines. Throughout the day, students presented capstone projects and research findings to faculty, alumni and community partners.
The College of Pharmacy also hosted its inaugural Career Fair, bringing together pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry leaders with students and faculty for research presentations, networking and panel discussions.
Research + Innovation Week 2026 concluded back at Digital Futures with the annual Awards Ceremony hosted by the Office of Research, the Office of the Provost and, for the first time, the Graduate College.
Faculty, staff and graduate students gathered to celebrate excellence in research, mentorship, collaboration, and innovation across the university. The ceremony recognized faculty achievement award recipients, graduate student researchers, outstanding mentors and recipients of the Office of Research Core Value Partnership Awards.
For many attendees, the final ceremony reflected what the entire week represented: a research community continuing to grow through collaboration.
From packed networking events and student showcases to interdisciplinary panels and industry partnerships, Research + Innovation Week 2026 demonstrated how research at UC extends far beyond individual labs or disciplines, connecting people across campus, industry and the broader community in pursuit of new ideas and real-world impact.