KINGSVILLE (April 22, 2026) — The Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK) Office of Research and Innovation invited students, faculty and staff to explore research, commercialization opportunities, and innovation resources available at the university and beyond during the second Research and Innovation Day on Wednesday, April 22 at the Memorial Student Union Building.
“It’s very important to continue mentioning how important research is to our institution,” said Dr. Jose Espiritu, vice president for TAMUK Research and Innovation Dr. Jose Espiritu. “As we continue to organize these types of events, the students are able to connect with other students working on research and faculty members. We’re bringing guests from other institutions and that allows them to start some collaboration. So, what we are doing is feeding this innovation. This is an innovation ecosystem. We need to continue to feed the research and innovation system so we can continue growing.”
The event featured 130 participants from TAMUK colleges and institutions and 75 research poster presentations from undergraduate and graduate students vying for first, second and third-place cash prizes worth $1,000, $750, and $500, respectively.
In addition to the research posters, the event included presentations from Regents and Distinguished University professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Dean of the Texas A&M College of Pharmacy Dr. Mansoor Khan, Texas A&M University System Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Dr. Sharmila Pathikonda, Got This! App CEO and founder Dr. Cio Hernandez and representatives from Texas A&M Innovation, the University of Texas at Arlington.
Presentations discussed supporting inventors, the use of Artificial intelligence in Agriculture, collaborations in pharma and biopharma and reimagining leadership for a connected world.
For special guests, the atmosphere of all the projects was an impressive and meaningful display of the commitment to research at TAMUK.
“When I walked on campus, just seeing the poster on research and innovation itself was such a good feeling,” Pathikonda said. “When I entered, I saw all these students were so engaging and their posters were so detailed. Everything was coming back to me from my days as a student, and it reminded me of what it meant to have such opportunities. I hope these students have the same feelings. We see these students as the builders of our legacy for this place. It is truly satisfying to come to such an event and have it all come full circle.
In the undergraduate division, Nicholas Kawamura, Joseph Tonche, Noah Estrada, Daniel Houf, and Brendon Cavazos from the Mechanical & Industrial Engineering Department within the Frank H. Dotterweich College of Engineering took home first place for their poster detailing an Oxygen-Propane Rocket Motor.
The graduate division winner was Nishat Ara, a graduate student from the Texas A&M Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy for her poster titled Metabolic Reprogramming of Tumor-Associated Macrophages from Pro-Tumor to Anti-Tumor.
“This was a good experience for new researchers like us,” Ara said. “Now, we can become familiar with the research of others and communicate with them. It was a really good atmosphere and I really enjoyed it.”
Undergraduate Student Winners
First Place for $1,000
Poster Title: Oxygen-Propane Rocket Motor
Name(s): Nicholas Kawamura, Joseph Tonche, Noah Estrada, Daniel Houf, Brendon Cavazos
College: Frank H. Dotterweich College of Engineering
Department: Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
Second Place for $750
Poster Title: An Evaluation of the In Vitro True Digestibility of Four Texas Native Grasses and Bermuda grass for use in beef cattle production
Name(s): Alexandria Ojeda
College: Dick and Mary Lewis Kleberg College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Department: Animal Science & Veterinary Technology
Third Place for $500
Poster Title: Anthrax Vaccine Response in Cattle
Name: Violeta Lira
College: Dick and Mary Lewis Kleberg College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Department: Animal Science & Veterinary Technology
Graduate Student Winners
First Place for $1,000
Poster Title: Metabolic Reprogramming of Tumor-Associated Macrophages from Pro-Tumor to Anti-Tumor
Name(s): Nishat Ara
College: Texas A&M Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy
Department: Pharmaceutical Sciences
Second Place for $750
Poster Title: Privacy-Preserving Federated Deep Learning for Nomophobia Risk Prediction Using Encrypted Transport of Masked Updates
Name(s): Md Wahidur Rahman
College: Frank H. Dotterweich College of Engineering
Department: Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Third Place for $500
Poster Title: Inverse design of 1D linearized Euler equations for acoustics
Name: Avinash Potluri
College: Frank H. Dotterweich College of Engineering
Department: Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
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