UT Tyler Office of Marketing and Communications

UT Tyler Students Win National Awards for Research Presentations

December 3, 2018

Media Contact: Beverley Golden
Senior Director of Media Relations
Marketing and Communications
The University of Texas at Tyler
903.566.7303

The University of Texas at Tyler announced today that two of its honors students won top awards for research presentations at the 2018 National Collegiate Honors Council Conference.

Biochemistry senior Savannah Seely of Fort Worth and civil engineering senior Arthur Oenning Fagundes of Curitiba, Brazil, received Best Research Poster awards at the Boston, Massachusetts, event.

More than 1,000 honors students, faculty and staff from around the country attended, with each participating institution nominating its top students to present research posters, said Dr. Paul Streufert, executive director of the UT Tyler Honors Program.

"This year, UT Tyler sent seven students and, of the 294 posters presented, Savannah and Arthur were among 10 students awarded in their research divisions,'' he said. "This national recognition shines a bright light on our outstanding students and the amazing things that are happening in undergraduate research at UT Tyler.''

Seely was awarded in the health sciences division for her poster titled "Investigating Programming of a Virus-Like Particle for Cell Specific Chemotherapy,'' which was based on her research with Dr. Dustin Patterson, assistant professor of biochemistry.

They are investigating the use of proteins and other virus-like particles to identify sites in the body that will allow for the delivery of drugs targeting specific cells.

"There were judges and students from all over the country who looked at my research and recognized its value and its importance,'' Seely said of the conference. "It made me even more excited to continue my education to become a professor and have an impact on students the way Dr. Patterson has impacted me.'' She plans to pursue master's and doctoral degrees in biochemistry after graduating from UT Tyler in 2019.

Fagundes was awarded in the business, engineering and computer science division for his poster titled "City of Tyler Hub-and-Spoke Bicycle Lane Network,'' which was based on his work with Dr. Mena Souliman, assistant professor of civil engineering. The project involves the design and implementation of about 50 miles of bicycle lanes in the city of Tyler.

"For me, this research is really exciting because my goal as a future engineer is to make a positive impact in the community around me. This project will actually impact the city of Tyler for years to come,'' said Fagundes, who graduates in 2019 and is particularly interested in transportation engineering.

A member of the prestigious UT System, The University of Texas at Tyler focuses on student success and innovative research in the more than 80 undergraduate and graduate degree programs offered. With more than 10,000 students, UT Tyler has facilities in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston.