Houston Daily

University of Houston students Ryan Lester and Mia Lukenbill are pursuing research to address extreme heat on campus. Motivated by the frequent high temperatures in Texas, they aim to inspire changes in campus infrastructure to make hot days more manageable.

On April 10, Lester and Lukenbill were among 390 students participating in the University of Houston's 20th annual Undergraduate Research Day (URD). Hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Research and Major Awards (OURMA), the event took place on the second floor of the MD Anderson Library, showcasing various students' work to hundreds of visitors.

“We wanted to go with something that might actually inspire change on campus,” said Lester, an economics major. Lukenbill, studying public health, added that preparing for the Institutional Review Board (IRB) was a lengthy process, but they are nearing the end.

The URD program, launched in 2006 under the guidance of Stuart Long, has grown significantly, providing more student opportunities for mentored research. This year's event was the largest, with approximately 1,000 attendees.

“Student presenters sometimes come in nervous, particularly if this is their first time presenting their research,” said OURMA director Rikki Bettinger. “But Undergraduate Research Day gives them a great boost of confidence. They look around and understand they’re part of a community.”

The URD also encourages interdisciplinary research. For instance, junior Carter Klebuc, a computer engineering major, collaborated with Aaron Becker to develop a drone navigation system without GPS. "What Becker and I found interesting about our research is coastal navigation has been used for hundreds of years," Klebuc said.

OURMA also welcomes research from the humanities. For example, Fejiro Oweh, a musical theater major, explored the film Black Panther’s influence on the Pan-African identity among second-generation Nigerians and Black Americans. “I wondered if other people experienced a similar thing,” Oweh said, using content analysis and in-depth interviews to reveal the film’s impact on unity and pride among Black Americans.

Following URD, students often present their work at conferences or publish in journals. Lester and Lukenbill plan to present their findings at a conference in Pittsburgh.

“We’re currently in the process of taking responses to our surveys and transferring them into a database,” Lester said. “From there, we’ll move on to our photovoice study and present our findings using video, audio, and other media.”

Ultimately, Lester and Lukenbill hope to influence UH leadership to add green spaces and cooling zones. “We’re aiming to be done with this by the time summer hits,” Lester said.

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