Parasuraman, Park recognized as faculty 'best mentors'

The Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities recognized two faculty members who enhance the learning experience of undergraduate researchers at the University of Georgia, at the spring 2024 CURO Symposium.

This year’s recipients of the CURO Research Mentoring Award are Ramviyas Parasuraman, assistant professor in the School of Computing, and Hea Jin Park, associate professor in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences.

Parasuraman is affiliated with the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering under the newly elevated School of Computing at UGA. He directs the Heterogeneous Robotics Research, or HeRo, Lab, which conducts cutting-edge research in heterogeneous robotics, collective swarm intelligence and human-robot interfaces. This research has applications in humanitarian uses, urban search and rescue and GPS-denied environmental monitoring.

Parasuraman has mentored 25 undergraduates majoring in computer science and engineering disciplines since he started at UGA as an assistant professor in 2018.

“My mentoring objectives are to combine students from diverse backgrounds, encourage teamwork, foster active and hands-on learning and emphasize ‘science for good’ principles,” he said.

His students have helped catalyze a vibrant atmosphere in his lab, boosting morale and research activities. Together, they have developed a unique swarm robotics testbed for verifying and validating multi-robot and swarm intelligence algorithms.

Read more. Congratulations to these faculty colleagues who have such a positive impact on students across campus.

Image: Hea Jin Park, left, and Ramviyas Parasuraman (Photo by Stephanie Schupska)