Center for Undergraduate Research
The Center exists to provide diverse research opportunities for undergraduate students and faculty, and to promote excellence in research in the STEM disciplines.
Director: Dr. Matthew Dyson, (806) 291-1118 dysonm@wbu.edu.
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Research Grants
The Center funds competitive grants to increase the impact of undergraduate research and provide mechanisms for research faculty to encourage participation in research by a diversity of students. Students and advisers work together to create a project proposal along with a projected budget to submit for consideration of funding.
• LiDAR surface slope analysis used for geologic mapping, Josh Reinhart and Dr. Tim Walsh
• Assessing the dendroclimatological potential of juniper tree-rings in Palo Duro Canyon and Caprock Canyon, Patrice Daniels and Dr. Matt Allen
• Habitat associations and population estimates for the Texas Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum) in the Texas Panhandle, Sara van der Leek and Dr. Andrew Kasner
• Habitat use and nesting ecology of Painted Buntings in Caprock Canyons State Park, Morgan Bennett and Dr. Andrew Kasner
• Petrographic and geochemical effects on the knapping of chert (flint), Joshua Wynn and Dr. Tim Walsh
The Chemistry department has an external grant from the Welch Foundation to support chemistry research. More information can be found here.
The NSF Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program funds STEM education students to carry out research that will be transferable to their future classrooms. This funding also includes tuition coverage. For more information, contact Dr. Adam Reinhart, 806-291-1124 reinhart@wbu.edu.
Travel Grants
The Center provides funding to undergraduate researchers and faculty mentors for travel that will allow presentation of research at national meetings with appropriate scientific audiences specific to the research conducted.
American Chemical Society 2023 National Meeting, Indianapolis, IN
• Poster Presentation: Engineering an expression cell line for >Mycobacterium tuberculosis RecA, Joshua Smedema and Dr. Robert Moore
• Poster Presentation: Isolation of compounds in Larrea tridentate and Pterocarpus santalinus that demonstrate cytotoxic effects on the prostate cancer cell line PC3, Araceli Torres and Dr. Adam Reinhart
American Chemical Society 2019 National Meeting, Orlando, FL
• Poster Presentation: Components of Cinnamon verum (cinnamon) and Salvia officinalis (Sage) in 4T1 breast cancer cells, Makayla Nicholson, Jai'Cee Tudman, Dr. Adam J. Reinhart, Dr. Gary Gray
• Poster Presentation: Difference of tRNA gene distribution between three low-GC bacteria, Gracia Sebastiao and Dr. Robert Moore
• Poster Presentation: Implications of RecA binding in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Kyle Rickman and Dr. Robert Moore
South-Central Geological Society of America 2018 Annual Meeting, Little Rock, AR
• Poster Presentation: LiDAR surface slope analysis used for geologic mapping, Joshua Reinhart and Dr. Tim Walsh
• Poster Presentation: Geochemical and petrographic characterization of chert workability, Joshua Wynn and Dr. Tim Walsh
Southwestern Association of Naturalists 2018 Annual Meeting, San Marcos, TX
• Oral Presentation: Assessing the dendroclimatological potential of Juniper tree-rings in Palo Duro and Caprock Canyons, TX, Chelsea Beaubouef and Dr. Matthew Allen
• Oral Presentation: Habitat associations and population estimates for the Texas Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum) in the Texas Panhandle, Sara van der Leek and Dr. Andrew Kasner
• Poster Presentation: Overcoming challenges of accurately dating Juniperus tree-rings: using cross-sections to improve detection rates for false and missing rings, Patrice Daniels and Dr. Matthew Allen
• Poster Presentation: Species richness and winter habitat associations of sparrows (Passeriformes: Emberizidae) in an agricultural landscape of the Southern High Plains, Texas, Leigh Ann DeMerritt and Dr. Andrew Kasner
Southwestern Association of Naturalists 2017 Annual Meeting, Lawton, OK
• Oral Presentation: Using VHF radio telemetry to determine home range and habitat use of Ladder-backed Woodpeckers (Picoides scalaris) in the Texas Panhandle, Victoria Solis and Dr. Andrew Kasner
• Poster Presentation: Long term changes in the fish community of a spring-fed West Texas stream in the Concho River drainage, Joseph Leos and Dr. Andrew Kasner
South Central Geological Society of America 2017 Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX
• Poster Presentation: Comparison of chert geochemistry and flint knapping workability, Joshua Wynn and Dr. Tim Walsh
Society for Study of Ingestive Behavior 2017 Annual Meeting, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
• Poster Presentation: Bullied CD-1 retired breeder mice are resilient to cross-sensitization among stress, alcohol intake, and salty high-fat diet preference, Josiah Morales, Mayra Herrera-Gonzales, and Dr. Sophia Pereira
• Poster Presentation: Bullied C57BL/6J mice display cross-sensitization between stress-induced alcohol dependence and salty high-fat diet preference: aversive salty high-fat diet becomes palatable, Mayra Herrera-Gonzales, Josiah Morales, and Dr. Sophia Pereira
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Getting Involved
The WBU Center for Undergraduate research in Mathematics and Sciences wants to encourage and support all interested students, not just those funded by the Center. We believe undergraduate research should be student-driven, tackle real problems, and push the boundaries of current knowledge and understanding of our world. You, the student, will explore with your research mentor an area of interest to you until you identify a specific research question that you want to answer. Then, after training in the techniques and skills necessary, it will be up to you to do the work, perform the experiment, write the code, collect and analyze the data, or anything else you need to do to get at that answer. At the end of it all, you are the expert.
If you want to learn more about research taking place in the different disciplines, discover what each of our faculty is doing in research, or learn what steps you need to take to get plugged in, we encourage you to visit the departmental research pages:
Go discover new things! Be a Pioneer!
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