Student researchers put UTA on national stage

Program allows students to present original research, network with professionals and future employers

2025-05-30

(Press-News.org) University of Texas at Arlington biochemistry major Debby Sunday showcased her research at a recent American Chemistry Society conference at East Texas A&M in Commerce. Her findings on photosynthesizers and bacteria earned second place in the undergraduate competition.

“This was the first research conference I ever attended, and my experience was very educational,” said Sunday, a graduate of Lake Ridge High School in Mansfield. “Other chemists from across the metroplex presented their various research, from inorganic chemistry to physical chemistry to biochemistry. Not only did I learn about their work, but I also learned how to be a better presenter and how to really know your audience when presenting individual research.”

Sunday is one of several UT Arlington students who have attended professional conferences and shared their original research thanks to support from UTA’s Office of Undergraduate Research, which helps students participate in hands-on learning experiences.

“I was able to be confident in my ability to share my work with others and answer questions in a way that was straightforward to understand,” Sunday added.

Related: UT Arlington prioritizes undergraduate research to ensure student success

Ope Oyeyemi presented her study’s findings on mindfulness and anxiety at the Southwestern Psychological Association Convention in Little Rock, Arkansas. Sadid Morshed shared his research on plastic waste recycling with laboratory scientists at the Pittcon Conference in Boston. Jenny Nguyen and Bao Nhi Nguyen showcased their medicinal chemistry research at the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Annual Meeting in Chicago.

“By allowing a select group of students to showcase their original research at conferences with attendees from around the world, we were able to provide our researchers with opportunities to network with future collaborators, talk to possible employers and experience firsthand what it would be like to be a professional researcher,” said Kayunta Johnson-Winters, director of undergraduate research at UTA and an associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry. “This type of experiential learning beyond the classroom is critical for students.”

Oyeyemi, a graduate of Frontier High School in Mansfield, focused her presentation on how just one mindfulness session can reduce exam anxiety among students.

“This is a project I’m really passionate about, and I think it has real potential to create tools that can truly help people—especially other students—so it was really exciting to showcase my work,” she said.

Related: Prestigious research award goes to 23 UTA scholars

Morshed, who attended Notre Dame College in Dhaka, Bangladesh, before coming to UTA, said attending the Pittcon analytical chemistry conference was a unique and valuable experience.

“Attending such a large conference allowed me to engage with researchers in the field, present my work and receive valuable feedback from faculty and peers,” Morshed said. “I especially appreciated the chance to learn about emerging techniques and connect with researchers exploring similar study areas.”

About The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA)

Celebrating its 130th anniversary in 2025, The University of Texas at Arlington is a growing public research university in the heart of the thriving Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. With a student body of over 41,000, UTA is the second-largest institution in the University of Texas System, offering more than 180 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Recognized as a Carnegie R-1 university, UTA stands among the nation’s top 5% of institutions for research activity. UTA and its 280,000 alumni generate an annual economic impact of $28.8 billion for the state. The University has received the Innovation and Economic Prosperity designation from the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities and has earned recognition for its focus on student access and success, considered key drivers to economic growth and social progress for North Texas and beyond.

END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Hertz Foundation and Breakthrough Energy partner to advance climate and energy solutions

2025-05-30

The Hertz Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering the nation’s most promising innovators in science and technology, and Breakthrough Energy Discovery, a Breakthrough Energy platform focused on pre-venture, early-stage clean technology, have announced a new partnership to advance transformative climate and energy solutions. This collaboration brings together two organizations with a shared commitment to advancing scientific innovation and supporting exceptional talent. By connecting Breakthrough Energy’s innovation platform with the Hertz Foundation’s renowned community of scientific leaders, the partnership will create new opportunities ...

New study reveals how tiny insects detect force

2025-05-30

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — A newly published study in the Journal of Neurophysiology reveals how blow flies (Calliphora vicina)—despite their minimal body weight—reliably detect forces through specialized sensory organs in their legs. The research offers new insights into insect biomechanics and presents promising applications for the design of next-generation walking robots. Researchers at Marshall University and West Virginia University examined the behavior of campaniform sensilla—strain-detecting ...

New 3D genome mapping technology sheds light on how plants regulate photosynthesis

2025-05-30

Chinese researchers have developed a groundbreaking technology that sheds light on how the three-dimensional (3D) organization of plant genomes influences gene expression—especially in photosynthesis. The research, which was led by Prof. XIAO Jun at the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with BGI Research, was published in Science Advances on May 30. The innovative method not only provides a more precise tool for understanding the intricate 3D interactions between genes, but also highlights the critical role of long-range chromatin interactions ...

Dinosaur eggshell study confirms biogenic origin of secondary eggshell units

2025-05-30

The calcitic layers of the eggshells of archosaurs (including crocodilians and birds) and turtles are composed of distinctive crystalline structures known as eggshell units. Those growing from the shell membrane are called primary eggshell units (PEUs), while those forming within the calcitic layer are called secondary eggshell units (SEUs). Although rare in modern bird eggs, SEUs are common in dinosaur eggs. Due to the lack of in-depth research on this structure, however, scientists are uncertain whether they are biogenic or abiogenic in origin. To tackle this issue, an international ...

Transforming immunotherapy design

2025-05-30

The University of Pittsburgh’s Natasa Miskov-Zivanov, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, has received a prestigious Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award of $581,503 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for her project titled “Artificial Intelligence-Driven Framework for Efficient and Explainable Immunotherapy Design.” Through her novel approach and the development of an automated system that leverages AI and knowledge graphs to design more effective lymphocytes, she hopes to transform the ...

New book with a global view of men’s experiences with partner violence

2025-05-30

More than two decades ago, Denise Hines began investigating a topic most researchers wouldn’t touch: men as victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). She and collaborator Emily Douglas were the first in the U.S. to earn federal funding for this line of research, publishing studies that challenged entrenched gender assumptions and provoked debate in the field. Their new book, The Routledge Handbook of Men’s Victimization in Intimate Relationships, offers the most thorough international synthesis ...

New research recovers evidence for lost mountains from Antarctica’s past

2025-05-30

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-OSHKOSH – A new study led by University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh geologist Timothy Paulsen and University of Colorado Boulder thermochronologist Jeff Benowitz advances the understanding of the geologic history of Transantarctic Mountains bedrock, with implications for understanding the evolution of landscapes lying beneath the ice sheets covering Antarctica. The team of researchers analyzed the chemistry of mineral grains commonly found in igneous rocks, like granite, from the Transantarctic Mountains. The research team includes other scientists from the University of Arizona, St. Louis University, The Ohio State University, and the University of Alaska ...

Scientists discover new evidence of intermediate-mass black holes

2025-05-30

In the world of black holes, there are generally three size categories: stellar-mass black holes (about five to 50 times the mass of the sun), supermassive black holes (millions to billions of times the mass of the sun), and intermediate-mass black holes with masses somewhere in between. While we know that intermediate-mass black holes should exist, little is known about their origins or characteristics—they are considered the rare “missing links” in black hole evolution. However, four new studies have ...

Predicting underwater landslides before they strike

2025-05-30

Below ocean wind farms, oil rigs and other offshore installations are mammoth networks of underwater structures, including pipelines, anchors, risers and cables, that are essential to harness the energy source. But much like terrestrial structures, these subsea constructions are also vulnerable to natural events, like submarine landslides, that can hamper the productivity of installations below the sea. Researchers at Texas A&M may now be able to accurately predict the occurrence of marine landslides using underwater site characterization data. “One ...

What will it take to reduce primary care doctor burnout?

2025-05-30

America’s primary care doctors are burning out, cutting back their hours, and leaving their practices early, driven in part by the demands of handling the flood of digital messages from their patients. But a trio of new University of Michigan studies offer hope for easing this crisis, and improving both the care that patients get and the work lives of those who provide it. The studies could help primary care clinics nationwide take steps to keep the bedrock of American health care from crumbling further. All three papers, published in the Journal of ...

Student researchers put UTA on national stage

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: