Prairie
View A&M engineering student Eric Wright won first place in the undergraduate
poster competition during this year’s Student Research Symposium.
(Prairie View)—An annual workshop designed to increase interaction among A&M System faculty and their research peers and a symposium in which students from A&M System universities showcased their research were held Nov. 9-11 at Prairie View A&M University.
Some 345 undergraduates and graduate students from the A&M System’s nine universities attended the symposium, now in its fourth year, and 245 presented posters outlining their research projects. The poster presentations were then judged by faculty, with winners recognized at a luncheon culminating the symposium.
Poster
presentation winners included (left to right) Katie Smith of A&M-Kingsville,
who tied for second place in the undergraduate category; Pearce Paul Creasman
of Texas A&M, who placed first in the graduate category; and Emad Awada
of Prairie View A&M, who placed second in the graduate category.
“We want students to get excited about research and graduate studies,” said Leo Sayavedra, A&M System vice chancellor for academic and student affairs. “This Student Research Symposium is a great venue for students to showcase their work, and a terrific opportunity for them to learn more about expanding their educational experiences at A&M System universities.”
“Seeing all the posters here is giving me lots of good ideas on how I can present my own work better,” said Kerry Meyer, an atmospheric sciences doctoral student at Texas A&M.
His research partner, master’s student Kevin Garrett, said, “We see a lot of presentations at conferences we attend, but those are highly specialized. It’s valuable to talk to people here from a wide spectrum who aren’t necessarily familiar with our work. It makes us become better presenters.”
Rick Giardino, Texas A&M University dean of graduate studies, said, “This forum provides a low-stress environment for students to present their work, particularly those presenting it for the first time. And, it provides a good opportunity for faculty to meet and recruit outstanding students for their graduate programs.”
Eric Wright of Prairie View A&M received the top award in the undergraduate poster presentation category for his “Review of MCNPX Applications in Nuclear Engineering.” First place in the graduate category went to Pearce Paul Creasman of Texas A&M for his poster, “At the Foot of a Pharaoh: The Cairo Dahshur Boats.”
Among
those attending the Junior Faculty Workshop from A&M-Kingsville were
(left to right) LaVonne Key, Herminia Rivera and Ana Rodriguez from the
Department of Curriculum and Instruction.
The Junior Faculty Workshop, also at Prairie View A&M, is held annually for tenure-track faculty across the A&M System and is designed to increase interaction among junior faculty and their research peers across the System. Many faculty members served as judges of the student poster competition.
“This year’s workshop focused on overcoming barriers to research funding and developing diversity partnerships,” said K. Lee Peddicord, A&M System vice chancellor for research and federal relations.
LaVonne Key, an assistant professor of curriculum and instruction at Texas A&M-Kingsville, said, “We’re learning the ‘ins and outs’ of getting grants, and receiving pointers on how to better interact with our senior colleagues and peers around the A&M System. I met a professor today from Tarleton who, like me, conducts research in multicultural education, so we hope to find ways to collaborate on our work.”
Breakout sessions addressing topics by academic discipline were held on a number of topics. Slide presentations from those are posted online.
“I’ve
met several folks today from other A&M System universities with whom
I can collaborate on grants,” said Rocky Lemus, an assistant professor
of agronomy and forest science at A&M-Commerce.
Staff members from the office of proposal development at Texas A&M encouraged faculty to use seminars to network, by inviting researchers from other universities to present seminars, and “vice versa.” They also encouraged faculty to use the National Science Foundation’s online, user-friendly documents for evaluating their projects, and to always be ready to explain their research to whoever might be interested.
“Have a 5-minute, 10-minute, and 15-minute ‘shpiel’ ready at all times about what your work is, why it’s important, and what you have in place to succeed,” said Robin Pearson.
The first A&M System workshop for junior faculty was held last year at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and drew 92 faculty. The success of that event prompted this year’s event at Prairie View, which drew almost 130 faculty.
Plans are under way to continue the event annually at different A&M System campuses across the state. Tarleton State University in Stephenville will be the site of next year’s faculty workshop and student research symposium, set for Nov. 2-4.
“To my knowledge, this type of combined event for faculty and students
is the only one of its kind nationwide that is hosted by a university system,” said
Sayavedra. 