The Summer Platform for Undergraduate Research (SPUR) symposium held Aug. 1 provided students the opportunity to present summer capstone projects and to gain experience conducting and presenting research. Students made scientific discoveries as well as personal ones, including whether to pursue graduate or doctoral degrees. Recipients of the President’s Awards were molecular biology senior Ashley Cua, whose research focused on causes of preterm births in older women; biology senior Claire Nguyen, who researched part of the brain; and biomedical engineering senior Piper Welsh, whose research focused on colon inflammation. The symposium included several ongoing research programs at UTD, including the Clark Summer Research Program and the Undergraduate Research Scholars program. Several summer research initiatives at UTD are funded by grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.