The breadth and depth of undergraduate research will be on display Friday, April 20, at the Fifth Annual Undergraduate Research & Creative Activities Expo at Lamar University.

The daylong event is sponsored by LU’s Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) and involves 112 presentations by 190 students working with 52 faculty mentors representing 25 academic departments, according to Kumer Das, director of the Office of Undergraduate Research.

Activities will be held in the Setzer Student Center, beginning at 10 a.m. Poster expositions, in which students will be on hand to describe their research experiences or creative activities, will be held in the Live Oak Ballroom in two sessions: 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and again Noon to 1 p.m.

The afternoon program will include two sessions of oral presentations held in the numerous meeting rooms of the newly renovated student center.

A banquet, featuring keynote speaker Christine Lambert, technical leader for emission control within powertrain research and advanced engineering at the Ford Research and Innovation Center in Dearborn, Michigan, will be held that evening. Lambert, who holds a Ph.D. in catalysis from Tulane University, is an alumna of Lamar University with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. She holds 35 U.S. patents and is a Fellow of the Society of Automotive Engineers.

LU’s first expo was hosted in 2014 with the work of 42 students from 21 academic departments, Das said. 

The Office of Undergraduate Research is dedicated to promoting and supporting student success through faculty-mentored undergraduate research, creative inquiry, and other scholarly experiences.