Undergraduate students to share research at virtual showcase

APRIL 20, 2021 — Throughout an unprecedented academic year largely consisting of remote learning, UTSA’s undergraduate students have continued to conduct research into a wide range of academic topics. These undergraduate students have taken advantage of a variety of platforms to share their research with the world.

UTSA's annual Undergraduate Research and Creative Inquiry Showcase will give students the opportunity to share their work with a large audience.

This spring, the event will be held virtually via Zoom from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, April 21. The showcase will feature undergraduate student research and creative endeavors from around the university.

“UTSA offers an unparalleled experience for undergraduates to excel in academic and extracurricular disciplines.”

Students will be participating in three events at the showcase, including a narrated poster session, a live 10-minute presentation followed by Q&A, and a 3-minute thesis competition in which participants have only three minutes and one slide to inform that audience about their project. Prizes will be awarded in each area.

Another way that undergraduate students are able to share the results of their research is through the UTSA Journal of Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Works, which recently published its seventh volume. The peer-reviewed academic journal presents scholarly work from undergraduate students from UTSA and across the country.

“The journal is a celebration of scholarship, and I hope it motivates the next generation of undergraduate researchers,” said Darrell C. Balderrama, director of the Office of Undergraduate Research. “I’d like to challenge all undergraduate students to seek opportunities for experiential learning, engage in the research process, and get published.”

Undergraduate research presents a transformational educational experience for UTSA students and is a fundamental piece of the university’s Classroom to Career Initiative. Learning outside the lecture halls and labs has an unparalleled impact on undergraduate students’ career-readiness.

Adrian Naoun ’20, a biology major whose research was published in the latest volume of the journal, was accepted to present at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research, which was held virtually April 12-14. Naoun won first place at the 2020 Undergraduate Research and Creative Inquiry Showcase last fall.

“My project concentrates on an immunosuppressive second messenger known as cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP),” Naoun said. “UTSA offers an unparalleled experience for undergraduates to excel in academic and extracurricular disciplines.”

The mission of the Office of Undergraduate Research is to initiate a collaborative network of programs to engage and support undergraduate students’ participation in research and scholarly activities in all areas of academic inquiry. The office has hosted the Undergraduate Research & Creative Inquiry Showcase annually since 2014 and has published the Journal of Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Works annually since 2016.

As part of Academic Affairs’ division of Career-Engaged Learning, the Office of Undergraduate Research directly supports UTSA’s strategic plan for 75% of its undergraduate students to participate in some type of experiential learning by the time they graduate.

— Matthew Boerger