2022 STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
On August 10, 2021, the Office of Undergraduate Research celebrated the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (S.U.R.F.) 2021 cohort with The First SURF Symposium. The S.U.R.F. program at Lamar University provides students with the resources to conduct research on a particular topic related to their area of study. The 2021 SURF Research Fellows Alexander Bahrim, Kalen Baker and Melissa Tan reflect on their experiences with undergraduate research.
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2020 STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Tyler Nelson
Biology and Mechanical Engineering
Tyler Nelson was accepted to the Applied Physics Graduate Program at Rice University with the letter of acceptance signed by Department Chair, Dr. Junichiro Kono. As an undergraduate at Lamar, Tyler did research under Dr. Lian’s mentorship and published on May 1, 2020, in the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters vol 11 (10), pages 4173–4178, an article titled “Dependence of Membrane Tether Strength on Substrate Rigidity Probed by Single-Cell Force Spectroscopy“, in collaboration with a Bioengineering group from Rice University. He also had a close professional relationship with Dr. Yao, from Mechanical Engineering. In 2019-20, Tyler ran a successful project sponsored by the Office of Undergraduate Research, titled “Development of 3D Printed Substrate for β-islet Cell Culturing”. This project addresses the need to grow efficiently the β-islet cells for type 1 diabetics. Tyler and Dr. Lian, his mentor, proposed to use 3D printed plastics substrates for allowing the β-islet cells to grow more densely and vigorously. Tyler did an excellent job in his OUR research project.
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2021 FACULTY MENTOR AWARD
Dr. Ozge Gunaydin
Associate Professor of Physical Chemistry
The Office of Undergraduate Research has awarded Dr. Ozge Gunaydin its 2021 Faculty Mentor of the Year. Since 2015, the Office of Undergraduate Research has bestowed the Faculty Mentor Award, a lifetime achievement award for excellence in leading undergraduate research projects and creative activity and for mentoring undergraduates in various programs at Lamar University. This year eight faculty members were nominated for the prestigious award. The Advisory Board thoroughly evaluated the dossiers for evidence of undergraduate student mentoring, professional development of students mentored and for impact and student success. Gunaydin, associate professor and Interim chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry has mentored many outstanding undergraduate students at LU, including McNair Scholars, Office of Undergraduate Research scholarship recipients and Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows.
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SPOTLIGHT ON STUDENT RESEARCHERS
