After the Spring and Fall 2020 Research Festivals were modified due to the COVID Chaos to be fully or partially online events, we are returning in Spring 2021 to our previous face-to-face festival format. This promises to be a special event, as the quantity and quality of our student research continues to grow. It is a testament to their tenacity in the midst of COVID challenges that they have persevered and completed their research. We truly have some exceptional students and projects this spring!

Last year’s virtual research festivals were not without their “lessons learned”, good and bad. Our continuance of providing presentation materials prior to the actual event will help our judges have access to allow familiarization with the work before standing face-to-face with our presenters. This helps improve the evaluation and feedback provided for students during their time to shine.

Also, we are rolling out a pilot of the Certificate in STEM Research for those whose projects encompass all aspects of research – preparation, execution, analysis, interpretation, and peer-reviewed communication before a professional audience at the state or national level. This year’s four recipients will be awarded the Excellence in STEM Research medallion to be worn at Commencement. These awards are sponsored by corporate partner Intuitive Systems, Inc., maker of VUMIE Online software.

Now, its time to reveal our Spring 2021 Title V Research Festival participants and their projects…

An evaluation rubric useful for scoring each presenter is found here.

For many of our projects, you can click on the NAME of the student(s) to see their video introduction, click on the TITLE of the project to see an abstract of their work, and click on the words LINK TO POSTER following the title to see their poster or a recording of their oral presentation.

Festival Week Events

Physics Department Proposal Presentations

Physics students present proposals for their senior projects during their junior years. These presentations include all aspects of project design and management that will lead to successful completion before graduation. These will be given in the days prior to the Research Festival.

  • Derek Hostas: “The Effect Pitching Has on the Drag of a Baseball, Using Rapsodo Technology” (Dr. Keith)
  • Jessy Villagomez: “Two-Way Communication Device” (Dr. Keith).
  • Austin Bridwell: “Plastic Grinder and Filament Extruder” (Dr. Keith).
  • Megan Martinez: “Volleyball Blocking Mechanism” (Dr. Keith).
  • Robert Samudio: “Title” (Dr. Keith).

Honors Presentations

Honors students from several departments will be defending their Honors theses in the days prior to the Research Festival.

  • Daniel Nunez: “Development, Optimization and Validation of a 3D Cell Growth Assay Using the MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cell Line” (Dr. O’Connell, Biomedical Science)
  • Ryan Rollins: “Defining Collagen X’s Potential Role in Breast Cancer Using MDA-MB-231 Metastatic Breast Cancer Cells” (Dr. O’Connell, Biomedical Science).
  • Shawna Faucett: “Propagating HSKMC Primary Cells in Order to Evaluate Metabolic Activity of HSKMC Primary Skeletal Muscle Cells in Hypothermic and Hyperthermic Conditions” (Dr. O’Connell, Biomedical Science).
  • Ernesto Valle: “Design, Synthesis, and Dual Efficacy of Hydroxamic Acid Derivatives as Histone Deacetylase and Metallo-β-Lactamase Inhibitors” (Dr. Pyenta, Biochemistry).
  • Taylor Smith: ” The Acute Effects of Blood Flow Restriction on Maximal Power Production, Fatigue, and Recovery During Vertical Jump and Repeated Sprint Tests.” (Dr. Dalton, Exercise Science and Human Performance).
  • Jonathan Samudio: “Low-Cost Gamma Ray Spectrometry” (Dr. Keith, Physics)
  • Joseph Watson: “Compound Bow Efficiency” (Dr. Keith, Physics)

Certificate in STEM Research Awardees

These students have succeeded in completing exemplary projects producing outstanding research artifacts – presentation or publication of their research on a national stage passing peer review by professionals in the field. They will receive the silver Intuitive Systems Medallion to wear proudly at Commencement.

  • Daniel Nunez: “Development, Optimization and Validation of a 3D Cell Growth Assay Using the MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cell Line“. Submitted for publication to Journal of Young Investigators (Dr. O’Connell, Biomedical Science)
  • Ryan Rollins:  “Defining Collagen X’s Potential Role in Breast Cancer Using MDA-MB-231 Metastatic Breast Cancer Cells” Submitted for publication to BIOS (BioOne) (Dr. O’Connell, Biomedical Science)
  • Jonathan Samudio: “Low-Cost Gamma Ray Spectrometry”. (Dr. Keith, Physics) Presented at the Texas Section of the American Physical Society Meeting, April 2021.
  • Joseph Watson: “Numerical Study of Critical Liquid Droplets Using Density Functional Theory for 2D Lattice Gas with Short-Range Interactions”. (Dr. Bykov, Physics) Published in the Journal of Undergraduate Reports in Physics, vol. XXVIV, issue 1, pp.3-5 (2020)

Other Oral Presentations

Some students will give oral presentations on their work outside of the Research Festival main event.

  • Eduardo Contreras: “Title”. (Dr. Keith, Physics)
  • Carlos Martinez Hamdan “Determining the best spots for a tennis racquet and measuring frequency nodes of the racquet” Senior Research Project (Dr. Bykov)

Festival Weekend Events

Poster Question & Answer Sessions

Oral Presentations

Twelve-minute Oral Presentations will be delivered followed by a three-minute Question & Answer session.

  • Kimber Boyles “Biodiversity of Herptile Fauna in Callahan County, Texas” Research Team Presentation (Brant Scouts)
  • Chris Causer “Habitat Preference of Rhithropanopeus harrisii” Research Team Presentation (Crab Boyle)
  • Carlos Martinez Hamdan “Numerical Study of Nonlinear Elliptical Oscillations of a String“ CURES Project (Dr. Bykov)
  • Jonathan Samudio “Low-Cost Gamma Ray Spectrometry” Physics Senior Research  (Dr. Keith)
  • Jonathan Samudio, et. al “Numerical Solutions of the Laplace Equation for Electrostatic Potential in Cylindrical Symmetry” Physics CURES Project (Dr. Bykov) 
  • Jacob Williams “Modification of a Tangible Axle with the Use of Magnetic Levitation to Minimize Friction“ Physics Senior Research (Drs. Bykov and Keith)