Keynote Speaker and Awards Ceremony
Fourth Annual St. Mary’s Research Celebration
April 10-11, 2024
Celebrate our events by tagging on social media – #URW2024 #StMUResearch
Keynote Speaker and Award Ceremony
April 11, 2024, 3:30 – 5:00 PM, University Center, Conference Room A
Join us as we wrap up Research Showcase. Our keynote speaker, Dr. Alberto Gomez, will speak on Adaptation and Change in the Age of AI. The ceremony will conclude with student and faculty recognitions. Student awards will include poster and oral presentations along with Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships. Faculty recognitions will include Junior and Senior Mentor awards, Internal Faculty Research Grant awardees, and new grant recipients for this fiscal year. Food and beverages will be provided.
Opening Remarks – Provost Jason Pierce
Provost Jason Pierce, Ph.D.
St. Mary’s University
Jason Pierce stepped into the position of Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs on June 1, 2022.
He spent his formative years in the Rio Grande Valley (Brownsville, Texas) and completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Texas. After earning his Ph.D., he joined the faculty at the University of Dayton, deepening his affinity for the Marianist educational mission, and later moved on to St. Mary’s University.
Keynote Speaker – CEO Of Better Futures Institute Alberto Gomez
Alberto Gomez, Ph.D.
St. Mary’s University
Alberto Gomez is the CEO of the Better Futures Institute, an organization advancing a culture of innovation and civic engagement through technology, research, and storytelling. Gomez co-founded Irys, an innovative software technology company focused on artificial intelligence and data analytics for infrastructure and team communication management.
His influential contributions to the World Economic Forum and his innovative approach in this field have earned him recognition, including the McArthur Foundation Innovation Award. As a Fellow at the Aspen Institute’s Center for Urban Innovation, Gomez continues to shape the landscape of urban development and technology. His work with Irys garnered the Smart 50 Award and led to his exclusive invitation to present at the United Nations COP26 in Glasgow, representing American Interests and innovations on the global stage.
Student Recognition
Passport Winners
Kenya Rosas
Pedro Beltran
Amy Hardy
Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships Awards
SET
Dhwani Chandi
Mariano Pardo
Yareli Zelaya
Humanities
Haley Aleman
Alicia Virthe
Greehey School of Business
Vlad Chiorescu
Rosa Morales
Poster Presentation Awards
SET
First Place: Andrea Paredes, Sophia Noriega, Valeriia Klepikova and Alexandria Ho
Second Place: Keily Hart
Third Place: Andrea Paredes, Sophia Noriega, Valeriia Klepikova
Humanities
First Place: Hector Membrano III
Second Place: Victoria Yaquian, Wren Hutchinson and Ariel Lemus
Third Place: Andrew Ramon
Third Place: Maria Fernanda Guerrero
Social Science
First Place: Carolina Pinales
First Place: Julia Daniel, Katarina Carrizales and Amaryllis Rubalcaba
Second Place: Brianna Erck
Second Place: Makalah Maicas, Carla Canales and Helena Stina Svilberg
Second Place: Victoria Velasco
Third Place: Elizabeth Santos
Greehey School of Business
First Place: Isaiah Chavez
Second Place: Ana Loza, Abigail Medlin and Madalyn Trevino
Third Place: Sophia Phelan
High School Awardees
First Place: Ellis Meyer
Second Place: Victoria Rangel
Second Place: Samuel Jones
Third Place: Humberto Sanchez
Oral Presentation Awards
SET
First Place: Gianluca Porzio Cuenca
Second Place: Evan Villarreal
Third Place: Juan Gauna
Humanities
First Place: Carolina Pinales
Second Place: Mary Sommer and Brook McKenzie
Social Science
First Place: Alicia Virthe
Second Place: Lonni Garcia
Third Place: Savannah Torres, Martina Flores Guillen, Luis Ramirez
Greehey School of Business
First Place: Kelly Montemayor
Second Place: Lucero Galvez
Faculty Recognition
Faculty Research Mentoring Awards
Senior Faculty Award
Melissa Karlin, Ph.D
Junior Faculty Award
Morgan Bruns, Ph.D.
New Awardees
Karen Kelley
Texas Access to Justice Foundation
“Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLA)”
“Crime Victim Civil Legal Services (CVCLS)”
Carol Redfield
Texas Workforce Comission
“Governor’s Summer Merit Program”
Melissa Karlin
National Science Foundation
“Collaborative Research: REU Site: STEM Research for Social Change”
Morgan Bruns
National Institute of Standards & Technology
“Guided Uncertainty Reduction Utilities (GURU) for Integrated Improvement of Flammability Data and Fire Models”
Jennifer Harr
National Institute of General Medical Sciences
“A Whole Animal Model for Investigation of Ingested Nanoplastic Mixtures and Effects on Genomic Integrity and Health”
Todd Hanneken
National Endowment for the Humanities
“Latin Moses: A Print and Interactive Online Scholarly Edition and Translation of Latin Jubilees and the Testament of Moses”
Belinda Roman
National Science Foundation
“Build and Broaden: Enhancing Social, Behavioral & Economic Science Research and Capacity at MSI”
Mark Lokensgard
United States Department of Agriculture
“Educating the Future Workforce of Underrepresented Students in International Agriculture”
Saul Polanco
Texas Parks and Wildfire Division
“Big Bend Wilderness Retreat”
IFRG Awardees
Andrew Brei
“Ethics for Engineers: Toward Ethical Behavior within Engineering Organizations”
Jillian Pierucci
“International early intervention services for children in low- and middle-income countries”
Ying “Caroline” Chen
“Analyzing the Impact of Director Blockholders on Earnings Using Benford’s Law”
Richard Lombardini
“Implementation and Optimization of Quantum Electrodynamics in Relativistic Magnetic Reconnection Simulations”
Denada Ibrushi
“Navigating Challenges and Seizing Opportunities: The Transformative Impact of AI on Business Education and Teaching Strategies”
Erendra Manandhar
“Self-assembly of core-subsituted naphthalene-diimide based palladium and platinum metallocycles and cages”
Cody Cox and Lesly Krome
“Exploring the Stereotypes of the COVID Generation”