Tag: undergraduate research

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News Office of Engaged Learning Office of Engaged Learning – Research Student Academic Engagement & Success

ELF Spotlight: Ellen Aughenbaugh

By Diana Bautista Hernandez, Student Media Assistant for OEL

Ellen Aughenbaugh ’26, a double major in Biological Sciences and Studio Art and 2025 Engaged Learning Fellow, showcased her project, Interlinked: Bridging Art and Science this semester at the Jordan Gallery in the Owens Art Center. Aughenbaugh’s vision was to bridge the field of art and science together in an exhibit collection of oil paintings and charcoal drawings. She invited the viewer to contemplate not just the art but the deeper connection that it shares with the world of science.

What is your project about?

Interlinked is an interdisciplinary artistic research project that bridges the fields of art and science. The project culminated in a gallery exhibition inviting viewers to contemplate the similarities between the two disciplines as they intertwine in their search for truth and beauty. I primarily created oil paintings and charcoal drawings, focusing on neuroscience-related themes.

What was one moment during this project that really stuck with you?

One moment that really stuck with me was the moment of the exhibition itself, when the private, often lonesome work of creating art suddenly became public. Seeing my pieces up on the wall, framed and lit, was an entirely different experience from seeing them scattered across the floor of my studio. It felt like they transformed in a way I hadn’t expected. What was even more striking was witnessing how different groups reacted: scientists, artists, interdisciplinary thinkers, and even people who didn’t consider themselves part of either world. Everyone brought their own questions and perspectives, and each related to my work in unique ways. I was surprised and moved by how many people, regardless of their background, wanted to know more about the scientific inspirations behind my work. It reminded me that curiosity is universal, and that art can be a bridge between fields that might seem separate at first glance.

In what ways did this experience help you grow or push you outside of your comfort zone?

One thing that really pushed me outside of my comfort zone during this project was figuring out how to make science feel personal and empathetic. As a portrait artist, I’m used to people immediately connecting with faces- there’s an instant emotional reaction. With Interlinked, I had to find a way to make cells, anatomical sketches, and synapses feel just as relatable and emotionally provocative. It challenged me to push my craft further, and to find humanity inside the structures and processes that make us who we are.

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News Office of Engaged Learning Office of Engaged Learning – Research Student Academic Engagement & Success

Undergraduate Research Student Spotlight: Alison Kellom

Written by Diana Bautista Hernandez, Student Media Assistant for OEL

Alison Kellom, a senior undergraduate student (Class of ’25) pursuing a B.S. in Biological Sciences, dedicated time to research a crucial need in the field of oncology. Her project, Reversing Chemotherapy Resistance in Aggressive Forms of Cancer, mentored by Dr. Pia Vogel (Biological Sciences), dives deep into lab research and trials of different proteins through computational methods.

Over the past 40 years, researchers have struggled to find a solution to the survival of aggressive cancers. Even when patients are administered different drugs in chemotherapy, some cancer cells survive; these cells are called “multidrug resistant.” Dr. Vogel’s lab is working with novel compounds in vitro to develop a clinical model that can screen the success rate of treatments. As a result, patients may experience quicker recoveries and a much better quality of life during chemotherapy. Through the Engaged Learning Fellowship, Kellom gained hands-on experience tackling this issue.

This unique project has not only contributed to the field but also has left Alison with a personal takeaway. She explains that her biggest lesson was learning to accept that you cannot control the results, especially in science. “Science doesn’t always go your way,” she says. During weekly lab meetings, she often found herself with little or no presentable data, which was initially discouraging. However, she soon realized that data points aren’t the only measure of learning and progress. “Eventually I learned that you don’t always need to get results to learn in the lab!” This resulted in helping her build a strong foundation in research, adding, “you can draw from in the future.” As Alison puts it, “I truly believe that the ability to make mistakes during research is the only way science could progress!”

 

 

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News Office of Engaged Learning Office of Engaged Learning – Research Student Academic Engagement & Success

Engage Together Partnership Puts SMU Students at the Heart of Anti-Trafficking Research

Text "Engage Together"

This year, SMU’s Office of Engaged Learning and the Human Trafficking Data Research Project partnered with Engage Together, an award-winning nonprofit dedicated to preventing and ending human trafficking. The collaboration centers on a large-scale community mapping project designed to identify and visualize all programs and services across the state that address human trafficking and support high-risk populations.

Ten SMU students were selected as Engage Together Fellows to support the organization’s efforts. The fellows worked with community organizations to encourage their participation in the project, and helped gather data using the Community Assessment Survey.

This paid internship allowed students to take on a meaningful role in addressing a critical social issue while gaining valuable experience in community-based research. Economics major Ritney Coleman ’25, who served as SMU’s Lead Research Fellow, shared:

“I saw how powerful collaboration can be in creating real impact—and it was rewarding to play a role in gathering the data that helps make that possible.”

SMU’s partnership with Engage Together is built on shared values of research, education, and community impact. Ashleigh S. Chapman, JD, Founder and CEO of Engage Together, highlighted the importance of university partnerships in addressing complex social challenges like human trafficking:

“We launched Engage Together for DFW in 2024, and we were thrilled to welcome both SMU’s Office of Engaged Learning and the Human Trafficking Data Research Project as part of the Steering Committee. Together, we are providing students experiential learning opportunities, engaging faculty in deep-dive research projects, and supporting community and national stakeholders through convenings and strategy sessions. And we’re just getting started!”

With the data collected from SMU student fellows, Engage Together is preparing a comprehensive assessment of anti-trafficking efforts across 17 counties in North Texas with data from 867 organizations. The report highlights the region’s strengths, identifies service gaps and vulnerabilities, and outlines key opportunities for more coordinated, community action.

Looking ahead, SMU will continue its partnership as the initiative enters Phase 2, working with the community to strengthen their strategies to meet needs and fill gaps.

As Chapman notes, “Human trafficking is a complex issue that requires comprehensive solutions. To succeed, communities must collaborate across sectors to bring everyone’s strengths to bear. SMU is a shining example of how a university—its students, faculty, and centers—can change things on behalf of those in need. Thank you! And onward—together.”

On June 9 and 10, the SMU Human Trafficking Data Research (HTDR) Project, led by Dr. Beth Wheaton-Paramo, is hosting the 2025 SMU Human Trafficking Data Conference with the theme “Strategies for Effective Human Trafficking Data.” The conference brings together researchers, practitioners, law enforcement and governmental officials, nonprofit organizations, data scientists, and other stakeholders who value the quality, availability, and efficacy of human trafficking data. For more information and registration link, visit the conference website.

 

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Office of Engaged Learning Office of Engaged Learning – Research

Save the Date: Fall Research Symposium!

The Fall Research Symposium 2024 will take place in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center on Wednesday, October 30, 4-7 p.m.

Each fall, students in select research and service programs are invited to give oral presentations in a miniature professional conference. The programs include: Engaged Learning Fellows, Summer Research Fellows, Cooper McElvaney Peace and Justice Fellows, Hamilton Scholars, Maguire Public Service Fellows, Mayer Fellows, McNair Scholars, Richter Fellows, and Tower Scholars.

Register on 360 for reminders

The schedule will be posted soon at smu.edu/fallsymposium

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News Office of Engaged Learning Office of Engaged Learning – Research

Encourage students to apply for an Engaged Learning Fellowship

Since 2012, SMU has awarded 384 undergraduate students with the Engaged Learning Fellowship (ELF), a prestigious program that provides funding and support for capstone-level projects in research and the arts. Over the years, ELF recipients have conducted innovative projects in more than 20 different countries, truly embodying SMU’s motto “World Changers Shaped Here”.

Recent highlights from the ELF program include:

  • Yvonne Yang ’24 (awarded for her senior film Speculo) is directing Egg Drop Soup, an official selection for SMU Film’s Summer Film Production project. Collaborating with fellow film producers Suniti Bhikshesvaran, Tyler Chapman, and Juan Davalos—who also received ELF awards—this team has brought their vision to life. Read more about their project in this Meadows News article.
  • Anna Kelley Zielke ‘25 created a children’s book that inspires the next generation to embrace pluralism. Watch her interview with the George W. Bush Institute where she shares insights about her project.
  • Gabriella Doan ‘25 was selected to present her research, conducted under the mentorship of Dr. J.C. Chiao, at the Biomedical Engineering Society Conference in Baltimore, MD (October 23-26). Her project, Polypropylene Paper-Based Electrodes with a Voltage Response for pH Sensing, will be showcased at the undergraduate poster session.

Each year, we welcome 25-30 students into the Engaged Learning Fellowship program. The deadlines to apply are: September 15, December 15, February 15, and April 15. For seniors graduating in May, September 15th is the final opportunity to apply.

If you know an undergraduate student working on an exciting project or who is ready to start one, encourage them to apply for an ELF! Students can go to smu.edu/elf for more information.

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News Office of Engaged Learning Office of Engaged Learning – Research Student Academic Engagement & Success

OEL launches pilot program First Year Research Experience (FYRE)

The Office of Engaged Learning is excited to launch a new pilot program, the First Year Research Experience (FYRE). Usually students who are interested in research get involved after getting to know professors, generally in their second or third year. FYRE is a unique opportunity for a limited number of students to get involved in research right away in their first year at SMU.
Students in FYRE will be working as Undergraduate Research Assistants all year, and taking a class this fall. They will assist on a variety of faculty research projects, such as: research on antibiotics for tuberculosis and leprosy with Dr. John Buynak (Chemistry); developing a Smart and Reslient Infrastructure toolkit with Dr. Janille Smith-Colin (Civil and Environmental Engineering); creating instruments and performances for a “dinosaur choir” with Dr. Courtney Brown (Creative Computation).
The FYRE faculty mentors include: Matthew Boulanger, Courtney Brown, John Buynak, Kacy Hollenback, Maria Langlois, Monnie McGee, Milica Mormann, Christopher Roos, Janille Smith-Colin, and Jeanna Wieselmann. Thank you to all the faculty involved with this pilot for taking a chance on these promising first-year students!
Read more about the faculty research projects
The FYRE course, taught by Dr. Jennifer Ebinger and Dr. Adam Scott Neal, will deconstruct the research process and environment. Students will work through exercises to understand their faculty mentor’s research, learn to develop research questions, and work on networking and communication skills.
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News Office of Engaged Learning Office of Engaged Learning – Research Pathways to Industry Student Academic Engagement & Success

Pathways to Success: Student Spotlight on Ritney Coleman

Ritney Colment presenting to research team
Ritney presenting weekly updates of human trafficking research to the team during teh Summer Research Intensive.

Ritney Coleman is a rising senior pursuing a B.S. in Economics with Financial Applications. A military veteran, he initially aimed to major in accounting and become a CPA, but decided on a different career path where he felt he could make more of a societal impact. Ritney found the Non-Profit Organization and Concept Primer course (offered through the Economics department) to be “one of the most impactful courses and added to my understanding of non-profits and how they are managed.” This course provided the theoretical concepts needed to thrive in the non-profit sector, while Ritney’s internships and volunteering brought classroom concepts to life.  

Ritney credits SMU’s vast resources with helping him focus on his passion for research and non-profit leadership. During his junior year, Dr. Wendelin Donahue, SMU Director of Community Engagement, helped Ritney gain practical experience by collaborating with local non-profits through community events. Ritney’s goal is to develop a non-profit that serves disadvantaged youth by providing various opportunities through field trips, seminars, sports programs, and college access support.   

Ritney emphasizes the importance of networking and engaged actively with professors to uncover learning opportunities. This summer, he is a research assistant for Dr. Elizabeth Wheaton-Páramo, Research Associate Professor in Economics through the Office of Engaged Learning’s Summer Research Intensive. In his work with Dr. Wheaton-Páramo, Ritney is using the SMU human trafficking data warehouse to gather data on organized crime groups transition between smuggling and human trafficking. Sometimes it’s difficult to relate the theoretical course work to practical experiences, but Ritney noted that the knowledge obtained in his Introductory Econometrics class has helped him “feel confident analyzing data” in his summer research project.  

When asked about his advice for incoming first-year students, Ritney said, “the opportunities are available, but students need to be active, not passive, in their networking pursuits. I was able to get an internship by simply asking my professor.” Ritney recommends first and second year undergraduate students schedule an appointment with the Hegi Family Career Development Center early for resume prep and to build their LinkedIn profile. He also credits his peers in the Economics department for providing him with useful resources.  

For students interested in data analysis and practical skills development, Ritney suggests exploring the Bloomberg Terminals in the Business Library, where he is currently pursuing the Bloomberg Market Concepts Certificate. 

To find out more information about the SMU Pathways to Business and Industry, please contact pbi@smu.edu.  

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Office of Engaged Learning Office of Engaged Learning – Research Student Academic Engagement & Success

2024 Summer Research with Engaged Learning

Student an professor in white lab coats looking at beaker

Summer undergraduate research is off and running with the Office of Engaged Learning!

37 SMU students will be participating in the fourth annual Summer Research Intensive, working alongside 25 faculty members in the Cox School of Business, Dedman College, Dedman School of Law, Lyle School of Engineering, and Simmons School of Education and Human Development. In the SRI, students will work on faculty research projects and attend professional development workshops throughout the summer. The program also creates a community and cohort experience for student researchers to interact and collaborate.

As part of the Summer Research Intensive, OEL sponsors the Summer Research Symposium, a weekly speaker series highlighting research and innovation by SMU faculty and invited guests. The symposium series will take place Wednesdays from 12-1pm in the Hughes-Trigg Chamber with lunch provided. These events are open to the public!

2024 Summer Research Symposium Speakers
6/12: Dr. Beth Wheaton-Páramo, Economics
6/19: Dr. Peng Tao, Chemistry
6/26: Dr. Alexander Chase, Earth Sciences
7/10: Faculty Panel: How do I get a Grant?
7/17: Dr. Jeanna Wieselmann, Teaching & Learning
7/24: Faculty panel: Resilience in Research

Starting June 3, OEL and the Department of Statistics and Data Science will host the third annual Data Science for Social Good Research Experience for Undergraduates. 12 undergraduate students from across the country will attend the 8-week program to learn how to use data science tools to find solutions to economic and environmental problems affecting the Dallas community. The students will work in teams under the guidance of SMU faculty mentors Dr. Cullum Clark (Bush Institute/Economics), Dr. Anthony Petrosino (Teaching & Learning), Dr. Beth Wheaton-Páramo (Economics), and Dr. Mary Spector (Law). Stay tuned for more about the participants and their projects.

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Office of Engaged Learning Office of Engaged Learning – Research Student Academic Engagement & Success

NCUR 2024: Let’s Hear from the Participants!

Congrats to (L-R in group picture) Anish Senthilkumar, Karen Lin, Elisabeth Hood, Anna Su, Sadikshya Sitaula, Kevin Nguyen, Jonathan Thomas, Vivian Thai on presenting at NCUR 2024!

These eight SMU students had the incredible opportunity to present their research and creative work at the National Conference for Undergraduate Research 2024. They traveled to California State University, where they were able to interact with students and faculty from universities across the country for an exciting conference.

Here is more from a few of the students about their thoughts on the experience:

Preparing for the Conference:

Ellie Hood ’24: The best way I found to prepare for the conference was to attend the Undergraduate Poster Session! Being able to practice poster presentations on a smaller scale gave me confidence in myself and my research going into a much bigger poster session like NCUR!

Kevin Nguyen ’24: I prepared for the conference by making my poster. I made it early because I had the American Chemical Society conference a few weeks before. Thus, I had enough practice presenting my poster after that initial conference.

Vivian Thai ’25: I have been working on my project for almost 2 years prior to the conference, but to prepare specifically for NCUR, I scheduled a meeting with my PI and went over the data that I wanted to present. After that, I submitted an abstract and continued collecting leftover data until I was ready to make my poster. I had several meetings with my professor to draft my poster and I also presented at SMU’s Research & Innovation Week to prepare.

The NCUR Experience:

Ellie: To put it simply, NCUR was an intellectual feast. Not only was it fun and encouraging to share my own research, I also had the best time hearing about everyone else’s research! Every single poster and presentation that I came across was so interesting, and it’s so inspiring to me that so many undergraduates are dedicated to academia.

Kevin: My experience with the conference was incredibly rewarding. I only presented on one day, but for the other days, I went to see other SMU students’ presentations. Even then, I visited fellow chemistry undergraduates and saw their work. When I had time, I enjoyed the beach, hung out with friends, and relaxed in the hotel.

Vivian: My experience at the conference was amazing! I had the opportunity to do a poster presentation, but attendees were also able to watch other poster presentations and oral presentations. One of my favorite things about NCUR is that it’s a huge conference, so there is a large variety of topics. I listened to presentations with focuses ranging from Formula One to programming robots in agriculture. In addition, there was plenty of free time to explore the city. NCUR 2024 was hosted in Long Beach, CA and it was so much fun exploring the area and going to the beach.

Advice for Future NCUR Presenters:

Ellie: For future NCUR presenters, I say have fun with it! Don’t get in your head about whether or not your research is good enough to be at NCUR. If you’re at NCUR, you have something great to offer! Take time to see as many posters and presentations as you can, spend time with the other SMU presenters, and really soak it all in. Also, there are lots of grad schools tabling at NCUR. If you’re unsure about your post-grad plans but know that you want to pursue graduate education, definitely take the time to talk to the schools!

Kevin: For future presenters of NCUR, I recommend “selling” your presentations well. For poster presentations specifically, eye-catching titles and enthusiastic demeanors help to grab people’s attention and allow you to network with them. Also, please take some time to see other people’s work, as they could enlighten you on where you might go next in your research!

Vivian: Try to start your presentation in advance in case anything comes up. If you’re doing a poster, practice your spiel in the days leading up so you feel confident on the day of your presentation. Also, NCUR is a great opportunity for students who have never presented their research before. The environment is very welcoming and everyone is eager to hear about your research, so don’t stress too much about it!

 

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Office of Engaged Learning Office of Engaged Learning – Research Student Academic Engagement & Success

Encourage undergraduate students to present at Research & Innovation Week

Woman talking to group in front of research poster

Research & Innovation Week is two weeks away and we’re looking for students to present at the Undergraduate Poster Session. The deadline for students to register is Monday, March 18.

Please encourage your students to participate! This is a great opportunity for undergraduates to share their research with the SMU community, and to compete for cash prizes.

The Undergraduate Poster Session will be held Tuesday, April 2 from 2-5pm in the Moody Hall Atrium. For more information about the poster session and other events, visit smu.edu/riw.