ABQ Times

Three students were recognized with scholarships at the 2025 Graduate Poster Showcase (GPS25) held on February 27. The awards were given to Hamideh Shojaeian, Samuel Coulter, and Adrianna Fragozo, who secured first, second, and third places respectively. All three are from the School of Engineering.

Bill Gannon, a Biology Professor who manages student events for Graduate Studies, stated, "The showcase provides students with a critical opportunity to practice communicating their research." Previously, GPS25 happened alongside LoboBites, a three-minute thesis event in the fall. However, this year Graduate Studies offered it as a separate event, emphasizing the importance of posters in research communication.

The showcase was open to graduate students from all fields, allowing them to present their research visually to a wider audience. Every student chosen for the competition received a $100 scholarship to help with poster printing costs. Ten finalists were selected from a preliminary round to compete for scholarships of $400, $200, and $100 for first, second, and third places respectively.

To compete, students submitted an abstract of their research. Gannon observed that many students struggled with creating professional abstracts, which highlights the significance of developing research communication skills. "We're trying to get students, and all of us really, to make our content relevant and understandable to wider audiences," Gannon remarked.

On presentation day, each participant displayed their poster in a ballroom at the Student Union Building, responding to questions from attendees and judges. The format resembled that of a professional academic conference, offering students the experience of presenting research within the UNM community.

Preliminary scores narrowed down 60 participants to 10 finalists. These finalists then competed before a final panel of judges. First-place winner Shojaeian noted the value of participating: "Graduate students have the opportunity to participate and learn from each other while presenting their work to their colleagues and the public."

Shojaeian, a dual master's candidate in the School of Architecture and the Gerald May Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, focuses on using in situ resources to develop sustainable housing solutions with advanced technologies like 3D printing.

Fragozo, another winner, stated, "During the poster session, I enjoyed exchanging ideas with my fellow graduate students about our research and discussing potential improvements or avenues for further study. It was enlightening to witness the diversity of excellent research happening at UNM."

The judging panel consisted of staff, administrators, local professionals, retirees, and government officials. The final judges were leaders from research and graduate education across the university. According to Gannon, judges noted UNM students' involvement in a wide range of interesting and important research, also finding that students were well-prepared and enjoyed the interactions.

Gannon reiterated the event's objective, "It's a great way to connect with the community other than academics. It shows the community what we're studying here at the university and opens up a dialogue between the community and those doing interesting work."

Gannon encourages students from all disciplines to partake in future Graduate Studies events, including LoboBites in the fall. He emphasizes that the poster showcase provides opportunities for research across various fields to be highlighted. "We want to get students out of their ‘silo’ and give them a chance to see research that is being done in other fields and share their own," Gannon concluded.