Undergraduate researchers had their day. The Research and Creative Activities Expo was April 30,  and winners of the event, sponsored by LU’s Office of Undergraduate Research, have been announced.

During two sessions of oral presentations involving 76 presentations by 118 students working with 62 faculty mentors representing 25 academic departments, first, second and third place finalists were selected from each of Lamar University’s five academic colleges, the Reaud Honors College, the Center for History and Culture of Southeast Texas and the upper Gulf Coast and the Lamar University Literary Press.

The Office of Undergraduate Research, dedicated to promoting and supporting student success through faculty-mentored undergraduate research, creative inquiry and other scholarly experiences, is proud to announce the winners of this sixth annual event. The monetary supports of these awards have been provided by the respective colleges and centers.

College of Fine Arts and Communication

ORAL PRESENTATION
First Place: Student Career Preparation: Interactions with the Deaf Community, Baron Douglas Kane-Deaf Studies & Deaf Education; Mentor: Dr. Laura Maddux

POSTER PRESENTATION
First Place: Voice Characteristics during face-to-face vs Telephone Conversation, Caitlin Eakin- Speech and Hearing Sciences; Mentor: Dr. Nandhu Radhakrishnan
Second Place: Status of Women of Color in the Dental Field, Samira Ahmed and Umera Ahmed- Biology; Mentor: Dr. Natalie T.J. Tindall


College of Business

ORAL PRESENTATION
First Place: Effect of Statuary and Regulatory Protection in Investment Decision in Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Venezuela, Alexis Granados- Finance & Economics; Mentor: Dr. Gevorg Sargsyan

POSTER PRESENTATION
First Place: Use of Dredge Material for Construction Purpose: Pollution Treatment and Financial/Environmental Impact, John Reichard and Chris Albright- Construction Management; Mentor: Dr. Seokyon Hwang
Second Place: Negative Effects of Over-Compacting Asphalt Concrete Pavement on Roadway Surfaces, Ryan Malone and Charlie Kappelman- Construction Management; Mentor: Dr. Seokyon Hwang

College of Education and Human Development

ORAL PRESENTATION
First Place: Study Systems! Which One Works Best for You? Bonnie Holt and Ashley Broussard- Teacher Education; Mentor: Dr. Mamta Singh
Second Place: Addressing Special Needs within the ARTS Classrooms, Katie Gibson, Chaston Miller, and Rebekah Moreau-Teacher education; Mentor: Dr. Mamta Singh

POSTER PRESENTATION
First Place: Customer Perceptions about Caribbean Cuisine in the US, Odalys Colon-Rentas- Hospitality Administration; Mentor: Dr. Eunjin Kwon

College of Engineering

ORAL PRESENTATION
First Place: Point Cloud Mapping Using LiDAR with Application to Robotics, Juliana Silva, Juan Vaca, Lauren Watts and Melanie Olvera- Electrical Engineering; Mentors: Dr. Cagatay Tokgoz and Dr. Hassan Zargarzadeh
Second Place: Risk Evaluation of Frequently Transported Chemicals in Ports of Gulf Region, Dikshant Singh- Chemical Engineering; Mentors: Dr. Berna Eren Tokgoz and Dr. Cagatay Tokgoz
Third Place: Cassie-Baxter Transition: Gibbs Energy Analysis and CFD Simulations Using Newly Developed, Validated Algorithms, Chae Rohrs and Arash Azimi- Mechanical Engineering; Mentor: Dr. Ping He

POSTER PRESENTATION (Early Research)
First Place: Triboelectric Nanogenerators as an Alternative Power Source, Tyler Martin Mechanical-Engineering and Physics; Mentor: Dr. Cristian Bahrim

POSTER PRESENTATION (In Progress Research)
First Place: Pervious Concrete Pre-Treatment to Prevent Deicer Attacks: Exploratory Phase, Mateo Chevasco, Jarod Jantz, Nara Almeida- Civil & Environmental Engineering; Mentor: Dr. Liv Haselbach

POSTER PRESENTATION (Early Research)
First Place: Hyperconjugation-Assisted Ring Expansion of Acylcyclopropanones, Nathan Abshier - Chemical Engineering; Mentor: Dr. Christopher Martin

College of Arts and Sciences
Science Division

ORAL PRESENTATION (In Progress Research)
First Place: Studying the Effects of Catalysts on Ammonia Borane-Polyethylene Oxide Composites for Hydrogen Fuel Cells, Emily Ingram, Caitlyn Clark, and Krishna Karel- Chemistry & Chemical Engineering; Mentor: Dr. Ozge Gunaydin-Sen

ORAL PRESENTATION (Advance Research)
First Place: The Search for Baryon Resonances – the Excited States of Protons, Alek Hutson- Physics and Mathematics; Mentor: Dr. Philip Cole

POSTER PRESENTATION (Early Research)
First Place: Thermo-Optical Characterization of Organic Verdazyl Biradicals, Caitlyn Clark, Emily Ingram, and David Brook- Chemistry; Mentor: Dr. Ozge Gunaydin-Sen

POSTER PRESENTATION (In Progress Research)
First Place: Sediment Porewater Salinity versus Sulfide: Which Affects Deterioration of Salt Marsh Health? Jordan D. Snowden, Emily J. Smith, and Carrie A. Martin- Biology; Mentor:  Dr. Matthew Hoch

POSTER PRESENTATION (Advanced Research)
First Place: Iron Biogeochemistry and Microbiology in Natural and Dredged Material Restored Salt Marsh Sites in Southeast Texas, Shannon Adams and Emily J. Smith- Biology; Mentor: Dr. Matthew Hoch

College of Arts and Sciences
Humanities and Liberal Arts Division

ORAL PRESENTATION (Early Research)
First Place: Poetry: Culture of Louisiana, Kimberly Schexnider- English; Mentor: Dr. Katherine Hoerth

ORAL PRESENTATION (In Progress Research)
First Place: Fantasy, Morality, and Philosophy: The Value of Mythical Storytelling in Tolkien, Kaily Garcia- English; Mentor: Dr. Nicki Michalski

ORAL PRESENTATION (Advance Research)
First Place: The Effect of Formal Resolutions or Statements given by Nations and Concerning the Israeli- Palestinian Conflict: Who Helps Most?, Ali Hamza- Political Science; Mentor: Dr. Terri B. Davis

POSTER PRESENTATION (Early Research)
First Place: The Effects of Society on the Female Body Image, Fizzah Noor Khan- Psychology; Mentor: Dr. Raymond Doe

POSTER PRESENTATION (In Progress Research)
First Place: The Risk-Need-Responsivity Model and Its Effectiveness with At-Risk Youth, Zoe Lovett- Social Work; Mentor: Ms. Lori Wright

POSTER PRESENTATION (Advance Research)
First Place: The Cultural Revolution of Traditional Gentrification in the Community of South Park: A Social Work Research Case Study, Jordan Bryant- Social Work; Mentor: Dr. Ginger Gummelt

Reaud Honors College

BEST IN PRESENTATION:

-  Alienation of Migrants and Gregor from The Metamorphosis, Himani Vithanage; Political Science; Mentor: Dr. Shannon Joffe
- The Democratic Response to “Tough on Crime:” William Clinton’s Crime Bill, Himani Vithanage, Political Science; Mentor: Dr. Gwinyai P. Muzorewa
- Triboelectric Nanogenerators as an Alterative Power Source, Tyler Martin, Mechanical-Engineering and Physics; Mentor: Dr. Cristian Bahrim
- A Comparison between Mental Insanity and Maniacal Madness: Comparing Edgar Alan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” and Charlotte Perkins’ “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Morgan Martin, English; Mentor: Dr. Shannon Joffe

The Center for History and Culture of Southeast Texas and the Upper Gulf Coast

First Place: Gulf Water Family Roots, Holly Westbrook, English; Mentor: Dr. Katherine Hoerth
Second Place: Analyzing the Incidence Rates of Gonorrhea, Syphilis, Chlamydia and HIV in Port Arthur, Texas; Afsana Islam, Biology; Mentor: Dr. Ashwini Kucknoor
Third Place: Undergraduate Research from Boremont to Beaumont; Andrea Bru, English; Mentor: Dr. Katherine Hoerth

Lamar University Literary Press

Poetry: Culture of Louisiana, Kimberly Schexnider, English; Mentor: Dr. Katherine Hoerth