Undergraduate Research Opportunities and Summer Workshop (UGROW) is MSU’s faculty-led, student-executed intensive summer research program. As in years past, UGROW will provide a venue in which faculty mentor full-time engagement from one or possibly two students, facilitating student exposure to research techniques, as well as opportunities for presentation and interaction.
The gist...
- Faculty propose well-considered research objectives appropriate for rapid completion by undergraduate students.
- Projects are announced and student applications are accepted
- Students apply to the program, specifying up to three projects of preference
- Applications are evaluated and a student cohort is selected
- The cohort engages workshops during the first week of the program (week before Summer I)
- Students then engage their projects
- The cohort reunites for informal presentations and a final symposium
UGROW26 - over two decades of undergrad research
Projects
This year's projects are here.
Proposal schedule
- February 2: Call for faculty proposals
- February 18: Proposals due
- March 3: Projects determined and posted for student viewing
Application schedule
- March 23: Scholar application deadline
- April 17 : Selection of UGROW 25 Cohort
UGROW26 Program schedule
- May 26, 9:00 am- 10:30 am: UGROW Meet and Greet, Bolin Hall
- May 26-29: UGROW Workshops (mornings at 9AM and 11 AM), Research (afternoons)
- June 1: Research commences in full (as determined by mentors)
- June 18, 3:00-5:00 PM: Posters on the Go Forum I, Bolin Hall
- June 25, 3:00-5:00 PM: Posters on the Go Forum II, Bolin Hall
- July 2: 21st Annual Symposium - Bolin Hall 127 at 9AM
Cohort
The following students were accepted into the UGROW26 program.
| Student | Project | Mentor |
| Stephanie Agwanihu | Predictors of Student Success: A Regression Analysis | Dr. Harris |
| Ricardo Ayala | Bridging Signal Processing and High Performance Computing: An Undergraduate Study of Signal Convolution | Dr. Colmenares-Diaz |
| Noah Bustard | Enhancing Patient Safety: Psychometric Evaluation of an EMAR-based IV Medication Administration Virtual Simulation | Dr. Lockhart |
| Chibusonma Chijioke | Electrochemical Potential Study of Produced Water Mud Systems | Dr. Elsharafi |
| Excel Georgeson | Design and Manufacturing of a Spherical Gear | Dr. Azzouz |
| Maria Grandett | Enhancing Patient Safety: Psychometric Evaluation of an EMAR-based IV Medication Administration Virtual Simulation | Dr. Lockhart |
| Chelsea Kafesu | Where the Rain Goes: Following Water’s Hidden Journey Underground | Dr. Mahmud |
| Sharadha KC | Where the Rain Goes: Following Water’s Hidden Journey Underground | Dr. Mahmud |
| Clifton King | Save The Mingus! | Dr. Rosscoe (Feat. Dr. Price) |
| Ellen Langford | Symmetry and Complexity of Swish | Dr. Cobb |
| Brody Letz | Save The Mingus! | Dr. Rosscoe (Feat. Dr. Price) |
| Natalie McBride | Political polarization and the public's trust in the court system | Dr. Lee |
| Dylan Munguia | Political polarization and the public's trust in the court system | Dr. Lee |
| Trinity Munoz | Enhancing Patient Safety: Psychometric Evaluation of an EMAR-based IV Medication Administration Virtual Simulation | Dr. Lockhart |
| Mohammed Abdul Muqsith | Bridging Signal Processing and High Performance Computing: An Undergraduate Study of Signal Convolution | Dr. Colmenares-Diaz |
| Oluwakayomide Kelvin Nurain | Calibration and Application of the Analog Output Module in Programmable Logic Controls | Dr. Ilhan |
| Alisson Pozo | Electrochemical Potential Study of Produced Water Mud Systems | Dr. Elsharafi |
| Pratish Purkuti | Bridging Signal Processing and High Performance Computing: An Undergraduate Study of Signal Convolution | Dr. Colmenares-Diaz |
| Aryah Rogers | Save The Mingus! | Dr. Rosscoe (Feat. Dr. Price) |
| Giorgio Toffoli | Exploring Data with Sensors and AI | Dr. Quadir |
| Nicole Vigilant | Symmetry and Complexity of Swish | Dr. Cobb |
| Jessica Wyman | Where the Rain Goes: Following Water’s Hidden Journey Underground | Dr. Mahmud |
Information for Academic Mentors (Professors and other campus research staff)
UGROW is an intense research program that starts a week before the summer I session and concludes with summer I. Although overseen by the McCoy College of Science, Mathematics, & Engineering, the program is open to research in any discipline. Mentors need to be available to conduct a workshop the first week and to guide their student researcher to completion.
Many UGROW projects are stand-alone efforts, but the program may be used for continuing or launching research for other undergraduate endeavors (e.g. EURECA). However, for this program, the project is generated by the faculty mentor with eye towards completion of a key goal within the month-long framework.
What happened last year? Link to the UGROW25 page
UGROW is overseen by Dr. Sarah Cobb (Department of Mathematics) and Dr. Jonathan Price (Kimbell School of Geosciences).
Midwestern State's Undergraduate Research office provide information and facilitates undergraduate research on campus. This includes managing UGROW's sibling program, EURECA, semester-long, student- or faculty-initiated research.
UGR sponsored workshops:
Successful Presentations Workshop Part 1
Successful Presentations Workshop Part 2
The Nuts and Bolts of Writing a EURECA Proposal
UGROW affords opportunities for collaborative research between undergraduates and faculty in an interdisciplinary research environment.
Undergraduate research is an inquiry or investigation conducted by one or more undergraduate students, with faculty guidance, which attempts to make an intellectual, creative, or applied contribution to one or more disciplines. Adopted in April 2013.
UGROW was conceived by faculty in the College of Science and Mathematics in 2004 as an initiative to create an interdisciplinary environment to train and nurture young scientists. The first UGROW was in 2005 and since then, it has expanded to all campus disciplines and offered research opportunities to over 200 undergraduates. During Summer Session I UGROW students experience the authenticity of researching projects of their choice in a highly interdisciplinary environment. At the end of the program, students present their findings at the UGROW Symposium, and the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Forum in the Fall term.
UGROW promotes conditions in which students and faculty can cross disciplinary boundaries and advance knowledge, all while enriching their learning/research/scholarship endeavors. UGROW is open to all disciplines at MSUTexas.
- To create high-quality research experiences for undergraduates in all Colleges at MSUTexas Wichita Falls
- To provide an interdisciplinary, collaborative environment for undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activities
- To create a pool of talented undergraduates interested in pursuing advanced careers.
- To expand undergraduate research beyond MSUTexas
- To enhance recruitment of talented students into MSUTexas' undergraduate and graduate programs
The UGR office has an in-house listing of faculty who have supported undergraduate research either within their coursework or by being a mentor in the EURECA or UGROW undergraduate research programs. If you are seeking a mentor for a research project, please use this list. Disclaimer: not all faculty listed may be available for mentorship; the list is updated frequently. Please contact the UGR office if you need help contacting or finding a mentor.