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Students experience National Conference on Undergraduate Research

Andy Newberry
18 April 2025
3 min read

Midwestern State University students recently had the opportunity to attend the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Pittsburg, Pa.

Fourteen undergraduate students were able to showcase their research, connect with peers and professionals in their field, and gain valuable experience presenting at a major academic event. The trip was made possible by the Office of Sponsored Programs at MSU Texas. Four faculty members and one staff member also had a chance to join the students.

“I believe this trip was an incredibly valuable experience for our undergraduate researchers because it provided them with a national platform to present their work, receive feedback from peers and faculty across disciplines, and engage in meaningful academic dialogue beyond our campus and the classroom,” said Stacia Miller, director of the Office of Undergraduate Research and a professor of kinesiology.

Following are the names of the student presenters along with the titles of their presentations:

Nolan Sila, Mario Sanchez, and Jabez Mackey (Engineering) – Emissions Study and Equipment Design/Build for Stripper Well Production.

Mentor – Mahmoud Elsharafi, associate professor of Engineering.

Carley Mitchell, Joanna Estrada, and Louisa Barrick (Social Work) – Mental Health of Commuter and On-Campus Students.

Mentor – Packiaraj Arumugham, professor of Social Work.

Brylie Green, Lauren Conner (Education) – Factors Impacting Education Students’ Choice to Attend MSU.

Mentors – Elizabeth Barnard, instructor of Graduate and Adult Education, and April Crutcher.

Jabez Mackey (Engineering) – The effectiveness of surfactant/alkaline on enhanced oil recovery (EOR) on a mature reservoir.

Mentor – Elsharafi.

Kara Rodgers (Chemistry) – Membrane Protein Chaperone Influences Tau Aggregation Kinetics and Morphology: A Therapeutic Approach for Alzheimer’s disease.

Mentor – Fu -Cheng Liang, associate professor of Chemistry.

Javaughn Bullard (Geosciences) – A Statewide Study of Wildfire Impacts on Air Quality.

Mentor – Kashif Mahmud, assistant professor of Geosciences.

Jarette Green (Geosciences/Computer Sciences) – Classification of subsurface water flow paths using cave drip time series clustering.

Mentor – Mahmud.

Lily Thompson (Exercise Physiology) – Comparison of Lactate Response to Perceived Stress, Mentor – Brett Crossland, assistant professor of Athletic Training & Exercise Physiology.
Zantia King (Geosciences) – Advancing Urban Forestry: Enhanced Biomass Estimation Using Terrestrial LiDAR.

Mentors – Mahmud and Elizabeth Elkins.

Aayush Shrestha (Engineering) – Optimization of jet engine through structural, thermal and flow analysis.

Mentor – Pranaya Pokharel, assistant professor of Engineering.

Zantia King from Geosciences shows off her project: Advancing Urban Forestry: Enhanced Biomass Estimation Using Terrestrial LiDAR.

Julie Scales, coordinator for Undergraduate Research at MSU Texas, witnessed the students presenting their research in Pittsburgh. She thanked the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research for supporting the group. “NCUR is the penultimate of undergraduate research through which students across the nation meet to present their research,” Scales said. “Valuable connections and new friendships were made, as well as new knowledge gained, making NCUR25 an overall great experience for everyone. I hope that we (at MSU) are able to support more students at future NCUR conferences.”

MSU Texas has participated in NCUR for several years, but Miller said this was one of the largest groups to date.

“The generous support of the Office of Sponsored Programs made this opportunity a reality by enabling us to fully fund all student and faculty participants who wanted to attend NCUR,” Miller said. “Attending conferences like this with faculty mentors present also provides a unique opportunity for faculty and students to deepen their collaborative relationships beyond the research itself. Faculty were able to mentor students in a national professional setting, helping them navigate academic discussions, respond to feedback, and reflect on their work in a broader context. This shared experience strengthens the student-faculty partnership and fosters a sense of community and intellectual exchange, enriching the academic journey for faculty and students alike.”