Office of Undergraduate Research hosts annual research exhibition

Lamar University’s Annual Undergraduate Research Exhibition (EXPO) is the showcase of the Office of Undergraduate Research (O.U.R.) grant supported programs. This year’s event was held at Lamar University’s Setzer Center on April 14, 2023.

In addition to the twenty-six O.U.R. grant supported projects for the university year 2022-23, the EXPO 2023 conference welcomed student presentations from all academic areas. Undergraduate and graduate students presented research projects for their senior design or honors capstone courses, independent studies, theses, and other discipline-specific research projects.

This year’s conference hosted students from Lamar University, UT Arlington, Steven F. Austin University, University of Houston, and from the Jai Narain Vyas University in India.

“This year we had over fifty-five presentations, with the largest poster session in the last four years, with four workshops and five afternoon parallel breakout sessions,” Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research Dr. Cristian Bahrim said.                                                                                                        

The conference attracted companies interested in LU students and collaborations with faculty. Representatives of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Scallon Controls, Lift-Off Pipe Supports, and the Entrepreneurship Institute at Lamar University were all in attendance at the exhibition.

The exhibition also hosted four guest speakers: John Howe, Emeritus Professor of Finances at the University of Missouri, Benjamin Park, Assoc. Professor of History and Director of Graduate Studies from Sam Houston State University Michael Williams, Assoc. Professor of Art from Nicholls State University and Kumer Das, Assistant Vice President for Research and Innovation at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

“The Office of Undergraduate Research is grateful to all our quests for helping to move this annual event to the next level,” Bahrim said.

After the conference, the best student presenters in the poster and oral sessions at EXPO 2023 were celebrated with diplomas and prizes. In addition to 26 O.U.R students receiving recognition for their six-month long research effort and the performance in their delivery at the event, 8 non-O.U.R students received awards for the quality of their work and one team of 3 students.

“We are very proud of all our student presenters”, Bahrim said. “Several of the 26 O.U.R. grant recipients have been recognized for the high performance achieved in their research projects and the exceptional quality of their presentation.”

To learn more about the Office of Undergraduate Research, visit https://www.lamar.edu/undergraduate-research/conferences-and-events/expo/