Exley contributors

UT Dallas students had their work featured in the latest edition of the The Exley. Front row, from left: Catherine Davis, Korina Guerra and Andrew Torck. Back row, from left: Karthik Hullahalli, Robert Powers, Richard Wu and Armin Khamoshi.

Student-led research on radiation treatment for cancer, magnetic resonance imaging signal enhancements, mechanisms of human pain and antibiotic production, along with original artwork, are all highlighted in the fifth edition of the research journal, The Exley.

Launched in 2012, the journal showcases the quality of research activities and creative works submitted by UT Dallas undergraduate students.

Copies of the newest journal are now available. It was released to coincide with the University’s 2016 Exhibition of Excellence in Undergraduate Research event in April.

“From illustrating the artistic talents of a biology major to highlighting the research contributions of a sophomore Goldwater Honorable Mention, The Exley continues to showcase the diverse skills and interests of our students,” said Dr. Andrew Blanchard, who is dean of Undergraduate Education and holds the Mary McDermott Cook Distinguished Chair for Undergraduate Education and Research.  

“The journal is an important publication because it reinforces our academic and creative undergraduate culture internally, which also leads to its utilization externally as a recruitment piece for prospective students,” Blanchard said.

Participating students turned in their submissions for the journal last fall. Faculty research mentors reviewed the proposals, which were solicited from students in all disciplines. A panel of experts from each discipline then reviewed each submission. The Exley Advisory Board voted on final entries.

Andrew Torck

Neuroscience senior Andrew Torck focused on the mechanisms of pain in his research, which appears in The Exley.

This year, The Exley broadened student involvement in the publishing process. Student researchers on the Exley Team helped with reviewing and editing proposals and submissions, and for the second year, a Student Advisory Board reviewed and voted on final entries. The board consists of undergraduates who have made significant contributions to undergraduate research in a variety of disciplines and demonstrate academic excellence.

Elizabeth Kennon, a student member of the Exley Team, said involving students in the publication process gives them the opportunity to refine their leadership and scientific communication skills.

“Last year, when I served as a student advisor, I was very uncomfortable collaborating with the deans and the professors of the Advisory Board, but finding that my input was both accepted and valued, I felt more confident in myself and in my contributions to the discussion this year,” she said.

“Working with the submissions as a student editor required an increased knowledge of scientific writing styles and norms, and resulted in an increased awareness of and appreciate for effective written communication,” Kennon said.

For the latest edition, Catherine Davis, a bioengineering senior from Austin, wrote about her research on a mechanical gait-training system for lower-limb amputees. The system was developed to test whether it would correct and strengthen the gait of these amputees as they learn to walk with a prosthetic limb. Researchers concluded that the system could help amputees improve their gait, thus reducing the pain they experience and the energy they expend when walking.

The Exley cover

Read 'The Exley'

Read the fifth volume of the UT Dallas undergraduate research journal and previous volumes.

“These changes have significant potential to improve the quality of life for lower-limb amputees. Amputees not only will experience less pain, but also will experience a freedom and independence previously unobtainable,” Davis wrote.

Artwork by Richard Wu, a McDermott Scholar and Collegium V Honors Program member, also is included in the 2016 edition. Wu, a biochemistry junior in the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, described his pen drawing titled “chimera” as capturing both definitions of the word: an imaginary creature made from disparate parts as well as a fantasy that cannot be realized.

“As an artist, I often encounter barriers between imagined fantasy and reality,” Wu wrote. “Through creating artwork, I can straddle that fine line between what exists and what I wish existed. Art allows me to capture those fleeting moments of beauty in the world, when fantasy becomes reality.”

The Exley is named after UT Dallas supporter and former longtime staff member Elizabeth Exley Hodge. Hodge joined the administrative offices of the Southwest Center for Advanced Studies in 1967, which became UT Dallas in 1969. She retired in 1986 after nearly 20 years of service to the University.

The Office of Undergraduate Education manages the journal and publishes each issue in collaboration with the Office of Research and the Office of Communications.