Texas A&M-Texarkana Students Shine

Some Texas A&M-Texarkana students' abilities recently shone bright, according to university officials.Three A&M-Texarkana undergraduate students brought home two of the top three awards in computer science at the 12th annual Pathways Student Research Symposium hosted recently by the Texas A&M University System.

The symposium is open to all Texas A&M System students with separate categories for undergraduate, master's and doctoral level research. It provides an opportunity for students to present research in a poster or oral format, while interacting and discussing the research with faculty, judges and other participants. The symposium also provides the participants with a broader exposure to The Texas A&M University System community.

Kyle Price, a junior Electrical Engineering major from Idabel, Okla., and Daniel Mahan, a senior Electrical Engineering major from Maud, Texas, were awarded second place for undergraduate research in computer science with a poster presentation titled “A Crosstalk-Based Linear Filter Design in Biochemical Signal Transduction Pathways.” Dr. Massimiliano Laddomada, associate professor of Electrical Engineering, served as their mentor.

Christian Hacker, a senior Computer Science major from Texarkana, Texas, received third place for undergraduate research in computer science with a poster presentation titled “A GPU-Accelerated Neural Network in Python.” Dr. Igor Aizenberg, professor of Computer Science, served as his mentor.

“We were extremely pleased with our students’ performances at the symposium,” said Dr. Don Peterson, dean of the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics at A&M-Texarkana. “To capture two of the three awards in the undergraduate computer science category is quite an accomplishment for our students and the university. As we continue to grow the STEM programs at A&M-Texarkana, we will have the ability to send more students to competitions such as the Pathways Student Research Symposium.”

For more information on STEM programs at A&M-Texarkana, contact Vicki Stringer in the Office of the Dean of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, at Vicki.Stringer@tamut.edu or (903) 334-6651.