Sigma Xi

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Spring Student Research Symposium

The Sigma Xi Research Exhibition has a new name, but the event continues! The 30th Annual Spring Student Research Symposium is held annually in April in the Library Livingroom.

Undergraduate and graduate students working on original research projects with faculty are invited to share their results in a conference-style poster session. Posters are evaluated by judges and prizes are awarded for the best posters

2026 Symposium

The 30th annual exhibition took place on April 22 and 23, 2026. Participants discussed their work with the public and with judges, who scored posters based on the poster content, the poster design, and the verbal presentation of the research. The top scorers among the undergraduate students and the graduate students were awarded cash prizes of $500 for first place and $250 for second place.

The program and listing of abstracts can downloaded here.

The Symposium was made possible by funding and other support from the Office of the Chancellor and the Office of Research Support.

Congratulations to our 2026 awardees!

Undergraduate posters

First place: Christopher Pereira, Electrical & Computer Engineering, "Design of a Freeform Lens to Increase the Imaging Volume in a Multiplexing Digital Lensless Holographic Microscope"

Second place: Craig Belanger, Electrical & Computer Engineering, "Reduction in Data Acquisition for Lateral-Resolution Improvement in Fluorescence Microscopy Imaging"

Graduate posters

First place: Yusif Ahmed Abdulai, Chemistry & Biochemistry, “Metal Hexacyanometallates as Solid Booster Materials: A First-Principles Study "

Second place: Matthew  Stearns, Physics, “Visualizing Binary Black Hole Mergers in Eccentric Orbits”

More information

For more information, contact Dr. Tara Rajaniemi or Dr. Genevieve Kozak.