Undergraduate Research Accomplishments Accomplishments: OUR Annual Update

The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) supports student engagement in research outside of the classroom and creative activities in all fields of study at UMass Dartmouth. In 2023-24, OUR continued to encourage and support students engaged in some form of hands-on research, scholarly work, or creative activity.  

Internal Research Grants 

Thirty-four students received the OUR Fall, Spring, and Summer Research awards (18 College of Arts and Sciences, 11 College of Engineering, 3 College of Nursing and Health Sciences, and 2 College of Visual and Performing Arts). A total of $44,440 was awarded in grants, including $14,802 from the Honors College for Summer grants.  

Travel Awards 

Five students were awarded OUR travel awards ($1,470) to present their research at conferences: 

• Chloe Shirikjian (Mechanical Engineering) made a poster presentation at The International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition (IMECE) Undergraduate Student Poster Competition, New Orleans, October 2023  
• Jordan I. Breveleri (Mechanical Engineering) presented his research at the 76th Annual Meeting of the Division of Fluid Dynamics in Washington D.C., November 2023 
• Jasmine Mattey (English and Communication) presented her research poster at the NeMLA (Northeast Modern Language Association) conference in Boston, March 2024 
• Paige Bernier and Chelsea Martinez (Nursing) presented their research at the Eastern Nursing Research Society's Scientific Sessions, Boston, April 2024 

Massachusetts Undergraduate Research Conference (MassURC) 

On April 19, 2024, 10 undergraduate students from 4 colleges traveled to the MassURC conference at UMass Amherst to present their research. Students presented on a diverse range of topics including: an analysis of trauma in Toni Morrison’s novels; gene expression in anemonefish; a nonprofit autism awareness institute; fracture strength of liquid metal infused carbon/glass composites; impostor syndrome and diversity; and more. Dr. Lamya Karim, Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research and Associate Professor in Bioengineering, was the MassURC keynote speaker. Her speech was titled “Turning Your ‘Failures’ into Successes: A Scholar’s Journey Through Research and Perseverance.” 

Three Minute Thesis Competition  

Sixteen undergraduate students—from Colleges of Engineering, Arts and Sciences, and Visual and Performing Arts—participated in the Three Minute Thesis competition held on campus on April 2-4, 2024. See the full list of winners and their research.  

Upcoming Events and Opportunities for Fall 2024

Undergraduate Research Day 

OUR will host its first Undergraduate Research Day on Wednesday, November 6 from 12-2pm, at the Claire T. Carney Library, where OUR research grant awardees from Spring and Summer 2024 will present posters describing their research. Posters will be scored by judges based on content, design, and student presentation, and there will be cash prizes for two top-scoring posters. More details will be announced on our website. 

Research Grants  

OUR is pleased to offer small research grants to help offset the costs of performing research projects in all fields. Application deadline for the Fall research grants is Friday, September 20 at 5pm. Students in all majors are encouraged to apply. See the OUR website for application requirements. 

Travel Awards  

OUR offers travel awards, which partially cover the costs of conference registration fees, lodging, airfare, and mileage. We also assist students who wish to conduct fieldwork and archival research at an off-campus location. There is no deadline for research-related travel awards. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the academic year.