Office of Undergraduate Research closes out a successful fall semester, announces STEM winners

For a decade, the Lamar University Office of Undergraduate Research has championed undergraduate research and creative activities efforts at Lamar University. Established in 2012, the OUR grant program was the first undergraduate program sponsored by the university that offered research opportunities to undergraduate student willing to develop new ideas and explore their curiosity in the program’s laboratory facilities under a mentor’s supervision. As the program moves into the start of a new decade, Dr. Cristian Bahrim, director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, reflects on the success of the program for the 2022 year.

This year, more than 33 proposals submitted by undergraduate students were reviewed by 52 faculty carefully selected for their expertise –– twice as many proposals as last year and the largest in any grant review effort, so far. 

“The quality of this year’s proposals was exceptional with a 70% acceptance rate for both STEM and Humanities, Arts, Social and Behavior Sciences, Education and Business proposals and 23 selected projects conducted by 26 students,” the director said. “All five academic colleges are part of the 2022-23 OUR grant program, which promises a rich and diverse panel of talks and posters presentations at our Annual Undergraduate Research Conference, EXPO 2023, on April 14, 2023.”

On Nov. 5, the Texas STEM conference celebrated its 10th year with young researchers from UT Austin, Rice University, UT Arlington and UTMB-Galveston, University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, Cornell University, Colorado School of Mines, Auburn University, Louisiana State University and Arizona State University. The program also included 25 presentations from graduate students from all the STEM academic areas and three special guests from prominent US companies: Dr. Jay Prigmore, an Electrical Quality Engineer and Technical Manager at Google Inc.; Mr. Alexander Bahrim, a Systems Engineer at NASA – Johnson Space Flight Center and Mr. Monir Hossain, a Senior Engineer at Entergy. The international component of this year’s conference brought an invited speaker from Germany: Dr. Raktim Haldar, an Alexander von Humboldt fellow at Leibniz University of Hannover.

On Nov. 19, OUR hosted their annual 19th annual HASBSEB conference with keynote speaker Dr. Juan Llopis, the vice-president of the University of Alicante, Spain. Llopis is a world-renowned academic researcher and a distinguished professor of business management, who was introduced by Dr. Juan Luis Nicolau, Marriott professor at Virginia Tech and one of the top five world experts in tourism management. Seventeen HASBSEB undergraduates presented their research while two eminent LU faculty, Dr. Don Warren and Dr. Mamta Singh, presented their programs. For the first time, the David J. Beck and Presidential Fellows presented their research in dedicated sessions at the conferences.

On Nov. 28, the program hosted their annual OUR Awards Ceremony honoring 17 undergraduate students for their research.

Best STEM SURF Projects for 2022

First Place: Lily Yoder, psychology major
Mentor: Dr. Edythe Kirk
Project: Research in human behavior – “The Effects of Positive Mood and Stereotype Threat on Memory Recall.”

Best SURF HASBSEB Projects for 2022

Winner: Margo Eugenio, teacher education major
Mentor: Dr. Mamta Singh
Project: Research in teacher education – “Social-Emotional Learning & Culturally Responsive Teaching: Do Preservice Teachers have the Skill, Knowledge, & Awareness to Support Student Achievement? An Exploratory Study!”

Runner Up: Chaley Cleckley, teacher education major
Mentor: Dr. Mamta Singh
Project: Research in teacher education – “Genetic Technology and the use of an Oral Debate Method on Questioning Ethics in the Classroom”

Best SURF HASBSEB Presentation

Winner: Margo Eugenio, teacher education major
Mentor: Dr. Mamta Singh
Project: Research in teacher education – “Social-Emotional Learning & Culturally Responsive Teaching: Do Preservice Teachers have the Skill, Knowledge, & Awareness to Support Student Achievement? An Exploratory Study!”

Best Presidential Fellow Presentation

Winner: Taliah Belcher, finance major
Mentor: Dr. Gevorg Sargsyan
Project: Research in finance – “Impact of Militarization on Growth of Countries.”

Best Non-OUR Sponsored Research – In Progress

Winner: Zainab Almohsin
Mentor: Dr. Millicent Musyoka
Project: Research in deaf studies – “Understanding Deaf Saudi Mothers Experiences: A Three-Dimensional Narrative Inquiry Structure.”

Runner Up: Louis Bryan, mechanical engineering and mathematics major
Mentor: Dr. Margo Gage Witvliet and Dr. Stuart Wright
Project: Research in environmental health – “Examining Trends (2018-2022) in TCEQ Air Emission Event Data that Occurs Near Charlton-Pollard Elementary School.”

Best Non-OUR Sponsored Research – Early Phase

Winner: Jasmine Boone, corporate communications major
Mentor: Mr. Andre Favors
Project: Research in symbolism in commercials – “An Analysis of Pepsi’s ‘Live for Now’ Commercial via Burkeian Dramatistic Lens.”

Best Presentation in the Study Abroad Contest

Winner: Emily Alvarez, business major
Mentor: Dr. Gevorg Sargsyan and Dr. Komal Karani

Winner: Miriam Chavez, business major
Mentor: Dr. Gevorg Sargsyan and Dr. Komal Karani

Project: Research in symbolism in commercials – “Study Abroad at the University of Alicante, Spain”