2026 TAS Conference: TLU Students Present Research to Scientific Community

A physicist, a botanist, a mathematician, and two biologists. The year was 1929 when those five scientists founded the Texas Academy of Science-an organization that had emerged from its earlier iteration, the Academy of Science in Texas, founded almost 50 years before that.

All told, the academy has been around for almost 150 years, and for 129 of those years, it's hosted an annual meeting, where students and teachers from every branch of science can come together to share research, make connections, and learn new things.

The TAS officially exists to promote scientific research in Texas colleges and universities, to encourage research as a part of student learning, and to enhance the professional development of its members-all of which is covered at the annual meeting, this year held in late February at the University of Texas at Tyler.

Texas Lutheran University once again made its presence known at the meeting, by sending a contingent of fourteen students and seven faculty members from the biology, chemistry, and biochemistry departments. TLU was in good company, with schools like Southwestern, Baylor, Texas A&M, UT Austin, Sam Houston State University, and many more in attendance.

TLU students presented their research in various categories, including Cell and Molecular Biology, Conservation Ecology, and Chemistry and Biochemistry.

In the Cell and Molecular Biology category, three TLU students swept the awards: Gustavo Zamora tied for first place, Natalie Osina tied for second place, and Ryan Trevino was awarded third place. In the Chemistry and Biochemistry category, Sage Bartlett tied for second place.

But there was far more to the event than the winning of awards. Scientists must be able to undertake research, but they also must learn to present their findings-and that takes practice.

"Presenting and communication of scientific research is a key component of being a scientist and the scientific method," said Dr. Danielle Grove, professor of biology at TLU, who attended the conference with her students. "With going to TAS 2026, our students gained exceptional experience in presenting their work to a scientific audience. This conference is highly supportive to undergraduate research and is an excellent place for students to go to a conference for the first time. In addition, students hear how other students present their great variety of work and get inspired and motivated about their own presentations and research."

In addition to the presentations, the conference included numerous sessions on everything from terrestrial ecology to neuroscience to physics and engineering. Grove said several students mentioned that their interest was piqued by discussions on various topics that were offered.

Assistant Professor of Biology Dr. Ashley Neely is already looking forward to next year's meeting. "As a new faculty member, attending this conference got me very excited about the possibility of taking my own students next year. Undergraduate-focused conferences like TAS give our students a unique opportunity to present their work beyond the scope of our own institution and gain invaluable experience in science communication and public speaking."

The students returned home to TLU with awards, new knowledge, and inspiration-plus a heathy does of confidence-well in hand.