Most undergraduate business students spend their college years building resumes through internships, coursework, and student organizations. At the University of Miami Patti and Allan Herbert Business School, some students are already presenting advanced artificial intelligence research on national and international stages before graduation.
Three undergraduate researchers affiliated with Miami Herbert’s Intelligent Computer Systems Research Institute, or ICSRI, were recently selected to present their work at major academic conferences typically dominated by doctoral and graduate researchers.
Charlie Tucker presented his research at the ACC Meeting of the Minds Undergraduate Research Conference hosted by Florida State University and at the Florida Artificial Intelligence Research Society Conference, known as FLAIRS 39, where he won the “Best Poster Award.” His work examines AI safety and large language models. Kyle Pasion and Nikhil Sunder will also present research at FLAIRS 39, focusing on blockchain and AI-generated misinformation and AI-driven econometric forecasting, respectively.
According to Maikel Leon, associate professor of practice at Miami Herbert, the level of work these students are producing is comparable to research often expected from doctoral students.
“Typically, Ph.D. students or maybe master’s students apply to attend and present at conferences like this. It’s very unusual that undergraduate students get accepted,” Leon said.
Leon said undergraduate research opportunities are often smaller in scale and confined to local university symposiums. Seeing undergraduate business students accepted into internationally recognized AI conferences remains uncommon.
“We’re speaking about international conference-level research with researchers from all ages around the world,” Leon said.
The students are all part of Miami Herbert’s 2026 AI Fellows cohort, a program designed to provide high-achieving students with advanced opportunities in artificial intelligence research and applied technology.
For Leon, the students’ success also challenges common assumptions about AI in education.
“People typically think AI is just there for cheating or damaging education,” Leon said. “We actually defend the other idea. Whenever students apply the methods and the knowledge they’ve been studying correctly and leverage AI appropriately, they can get amazing results.”
Leon said AI has significantly accelerated parts of the research process that once took graduate researchers years to complete.
“Literature reviews used to take researchers six months to a year because of all the manual work involved,” Leon said. “Nowadays, many of those preliminary research tasks can be automated to a high degree without compromising quality or integrity.”
That acceleration has made it possible for undergraduate students to complete sophisticated research cycles while still in college.
At the same time, Leon said students are trained to approach AI critically and responsibly. He teaches students about hallucinations, misinformation risks, and the importance of validating AI-generated information through peer-reviewed research and credible scientific sources.
The students’ projects span several rapidly evolving areas of AI research.
Tucker’s work focuses on AI safety and understanding the “black box” nature of large language models, an area Leon believes will become increasingly important as generative AI systems continue advancing.
“We’re still trying to figure out how generative AI works,” Leon said. “Charlie’s research has been trying to mitigate that risk and illuminate that black box.”
Pasion’s research explores how blockchain technology could help combat fake AI-generated content and misinformation online.
“The future of news and media will have to be highly regulated and secure,” Leon said. “Blockchain is one of the mechanisms we could employ to make sure fake news does not continue spreading.”
Sunder’s project applies advanced machine learning models to economic forecasting and time-series analysis, work Leon said could have major implications for industries reliant on predictive analytics.
Beyond the technical achievements, Leon said the experience has accelerated the students’ professional growth and maturity.
“They understand now that doing research is a complicated task that requires time, commitment, motivation, design thinking, and creativity,” Leon said. “I see in the way they communicate and present results that they have grown so much through this experience.”
Leon believes those experiences will distinguish the students as they enter the workforce.
“When employers see that these students not only completed internships and coursework, but also conducted published research at international venues, I hope they appreciate the level of dedication and talent required to accomplish that,” he said.
For Leon, mentoring undergraduate researchers also carries personal significance. He credits his own undergraduate research opportunities with changing the trajectory of his career and sees ICSRI as a way to create similar opportunities for the next generation.
“I made a commitment to myself that one day I would become the mentor,” Leon said. “Part of my accomplishment now comes from mentoring the next generation of researchers.”
The students’ work continues to surprise researchers who encounter them at conferences.
“Typically, people think they’re Ph.D. students,” Leon said. “When they realize they’re undergraduate students who have only been doing this for six months or a year, it becomes a happy surprise.”
