UT Tyler Office of Marketing and Communications

UT Tyler Students Participate in Summer Research Academy

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June 16, 2014

Media Contact:  Hannah Buchanan
Editor/Writer–Strategic Communications & Media Relations
Marketing and Communications
The University of Texas at Tyler
903.539.7196 (cell)

June 16, 2014

Students from The University of Texas at Tyler and Tyler Junior College are participants in the UT System Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation 2014 Summer Research Academy at UT Tyler, under the mentorship of faculty from the Colleges of Arts and Sciences and Engineering and Computer Science.

Now in its 22nd year, the UT LSAMP program is supported by funding from the National Science Foundation and provides undergraduate research experiences to encourage students from underrepresented populations to pursue graduate-level studies in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. TJC is UT Tyler’s community college partner in the UT LSAMP program.

UT Tyler student fellows are listed by hometown with their research field and faculty mentor.

DIANA – Mikayla Adkison, biology, Dr. Blake Bextine, UT Tyler associate professor.

EUSTACE – Samuel Cline, biology, Dr. Lance Williams, UT Tyler associate professor.

HOUSTON – Ivan Battle, electrical engineering, Dr. Melvin Robinson, UT Tyler assistant professor.

TYLER – Anissa Morris, biology, Dr. Neil Ford, UT Tyler professor; and Cynthia Ontiveros, biology, Dr. John Placyk, UT Tyler associate professor.

WHITEHOUSE – William Furlow, biology, Dr. Jon Seal, UT Tyler assistant professor.

WINONA – Adam Huffman, electrical engineering, Drs. David Hoe and Hector Ochoa, UT Tyler assistant professors.

CALIFORNIA – Jamie Williams, biology, Placyk and Dr. Joshua Banta, UT Tyler assistant professor.

TJC student fellows conducting research this summer at UT Tyler are: Molly Fischer of Alvarado in biology with Dr. Ali Azghani, UT Tyler associate professor; Jacoby Prestwood of Mineral Wells in mechanical engineering with Dr. Sara McCaslin, UT Tyler assistant professor; David DeClerck of Tyler in chemistry with Dr. Neil Gray, UT Tyler chair and professor of chemistry and biochemistry; and David Morman of Van in computer science with Dr. Nary Subramanian, UT Tyler associate professor.

Each student will receive a fellowship stipend for their participation, and faculty mentors receive funding for supplies and materials to support their student’s research activities.

Twice during the summer, the SRA students will participate in videoconferences involving all LSAMP fellows and mentors across the UT System. The students will also give poster presentations highlighting the results of their research projects at the academy’s conclusion and the annual UT LSAMP Student Research Conference this September at UT El Paso.

Dr. Stephen B. Rainwater, UT Tyler Lecil and Barbara Chandler Endowed Professor, serves as the UT Tyler LSAMP Program campus director. Gray and Ford also contribute in supporting roles by serving on the program’s advisory committee.

For more information about the UT Tyler LSAMP Summer Research Academy, contact Rainwater, 903.566.7235 or srainwater@uttyler.edu.

One of the 15 campuses of the UT System, UT Tyler features excellence in teaching, research, artistic performance and community service. More than 80 undergraduate and graduate degrees are available at UT Tyler, which has an enrollment of more than 7,500 high-ability students. UT Tyler offers courses at its campuses in Tyler, Longview and Palestine as well as a location in Houston.

Research Fellows: (from left) Adam Huffman, David DeClerck, Molly Fischer, Jamie Williams, Cynthia Ontiveros, Anissa Morris, David Morman, Samuel Cline and William Furlow. Not pictured: Mikayla Adkison, Ivan Battle and Jacoby Prestwood.