Annual Academic Showcase at UL Lafayette displays prominent academics and research

On Tuesday, March 12, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette held its “125th Edition” Academic Showcase at the Student Union, presenting a wide array of research and academic work at the university.

During the showcase, UL Lafayette faculty, staff and students took the time to display and share more about their extraordinary projects.

Various colleges and departments took part in the event, including the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, College of Liberal Arts, College of Sciences, College of Engineering and more.

Several UL Lafayette students and faculty from various departments shared more on their research, programs and long-term prospects.

Dr. Lynn Funkhouser, a professor in anthropology, described her current research and past contributions.

“My research focuses on bio- and zooarchaeology. I specialize in the excavation and analysis of human and animal remains from archaeological sites,” Funkhouser said.

Funkhouser also focuses on forensic anthropology and has been involved in local forensic work.

“I also work as a forensic investigator for our parish, and help local law enforcement recover and identify human remains in the course of investigation.”

Students also take part in Funkhouser’s research project and its endeavors. They can assist in local forensic and archeological efforts and gain experience in their probable fields of interest.

Yitoshee Rahman, a graduate student in computer science worked with Dr. Arun Kulshrehth on her research. 

Rahman described her project as focusing on creating an application for teaching interfaces through virtual reality.

“This application can help teachers teach a class and monitor students better; it can show if a student is trying to raise their hand or grab attention. We have different representations of emotions as well; if someone is frustrated, the emotions are shown,” Rahman said.

The current application under research is solely for teachers, who can utilize the program to better understand a virtual reality classroom and its possible interactions.

Rahman hopes her research will contribute to creating a form of reality that will help lessen teachers’ workload while enhancing student performance and education.

“What I want to do is to come up with a teaching interface for teachers, who can teach students in a VR classroom; I want them to use the interface so that heir cognitive load is not that much, help them piece the class better, their performance,” Yitoshee concluded.

Dr. Jennifer Hargrave, an instructor in geoscience and director of UL Lafayette Science Museum, shared more on the new fossil exhibit anticipated to arrive in the early summer of 2024.

“A lot of people know that we don’t have a lot of dinosaurs in Louisiana, but we do have quite the fossil record here. We have fossils of mammoths, mastodon, bison, horses and saber tooth cats; we even gave a jaguar skeleton,” explained Hargrave.

Hargrave emphasized her students’ involvement in the new exhibit and its overall significance to the public.

“Students in the Geology 422 class will be creating that exhibit. It’s great hands-on learning and then for the community to learn about the fossil resources we have in Louisiana.”

David Silva, a senior and physics major, described his research project in creating a star shade or occulter for space telescopes. 

“There are a lot of telescopes that are designed to look at planets; those telescopes often have a struggle with looking at planets that are next to stars because star’s light is so bright that it out shines the planet. We put out starshade in line next to the star, so that you can see the dim planet next to it,” said Silva.

There has not been a starshade designed to be used in tandem with ground base telescopes. 

Silva’s project team designed a starshade for NASA’s Hybrid Observatory for Exoplanet Exploration (HOEE) that could be used in tandem with ground telescopes, placing third overall.

The project aspires to ultimately create a starshade that could be utilized with outer space telescopes to few planets in other solar systems. 

“We are going to be able to look really far away and be able to see things with excellent clarity with designs like this,” Silva concluded.

 Dr. Magdy Bayoumi, professor and department head of electrical and computer engineering, discussed his research in developing technological devices to aid individuals with neurological conditions, such as seizures.

“We target seizure patients and want to release the patients to a normal life. We need to alert them before a seizure happens” Bayoumi said.

Bayoumi added how his device can better help epilepsy patients, especially children, ultimately leading to an increased prognosis.

“For the first time in the world, we can do this by one hour. We also target kid, I want the kids to be in school and don’t look different. I will have them wearing a baseball hat, the baseball hat will have a sensor around it, the senor will pick the brain signal and have a chip in the hat and then interpret this and decided if a seizure is coming,” Bayoumi explained.

Bayoumi is currently also working on techniques to slow down the effects of Alzheimer’s as well as address addiction.

Those mentioned were among the many academics that were present at the exposition.

UL Lafayette’s Academic Showcase is a spectacular demonstration of the committed and extraordinary work conducted by UL Lafayette faculty and students in addressing societal advancements.