New Mexico State University computer science students were among 120 attending the inaugural in-person workshop and research showcase for the Computing Research Association (CRA) Undergraduate Research to Ph.D. (UR2PhD) program in New Orleans in late April.
NMSU is a designated institutional partner of the program, which helps students and faculty gain access to a network of support, helping to bridge the gap between initial research experiences and successful Ph.D. applications.
“We started our partnership with CRA about three years ago,” said Raena Cota, program manager in the computer science department and southwest regional connector for the Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (CAHSI). “The UR2PhD program is an initiative of the CRA designed to expand participation in computing research. It provides our students with a mentored research experience.”
Faculty mentors believe the experience in New Orleans was particularly valuable because it allowed students to engage directly with the broader research community, to learn how research is communicated professionally and connect with other students and researchers from around the country.
“Early exposure to workshops, professional networking and research presentations allows students to mature academically much faster and become more confident contributors to research projects,” said Efren Lopez Morales, faculty mentor and computer science assistant professor. “These experiences also help faculty identify students with strong potential for graduate studies.”
These NMSU students’ experiences demonstrate how these types of workshops can impact their mindset about a potential research career.
Eugene Taabazuing, who will earn his bachelor’s degree in computer science in December, was one of six NMSU students attending the recent event. His project during the spring semester was an artificial intelligence agent that helps students prepare for technical interview questions.
“The undergraduate research summit in New Orleans showed me how broad and exciting research can be,” Taabazuing said. “I saw students present on a variety of fields and areas from biology to cybersecurity, and it was very inspiring and it made me realize how research can impact real life situations.”
Hailey Hudson was encouraged to envision a career in research. Her group project with Tom Chatto, Logan Flowers and Tiffany Monarco focused on “honeypots” in cybersecurity. “Honeypots” are intentionally configured to look vulnerable or tempting to cybercriminals. They are deployed by academics, security firms and institutions to analyze broader, global threat landscapes and to help identify emerging malware and hacking trends.
The workshop and research showcase in New Orleans was an eye-opener.
“It was great to network with other students,” said Hudson, a computer science major graduating in December. “They were presenting about real-world problems that they were tackling and that was very inspiring. I'm graduating very soon, so I wasn't sure if I wanted to go into industry or if I wanted to go to grad school. This made grad school seem more attainable. It helped me decide what degree I'm going to pursue. It was very helpful with the application as well.”
“What impacted me the most was seeing the end goal of what a lot of students were working on,” said Monarco, an information and communications technology major who will earn her bachelor’s degree in May 2027. “A lot of these projects were wrapping up or close to wrapping up. Seeing both in-progress and finished projects really gave me an incentive like, ‘Hey, this could be you, and you could be doing this in the future.’”
The UR2PhD program offers several key components: Undergraduate research training courses; a pre-research experience course; graduate student mentor training; access to graduate school application workshops; summer Research Experience for Undergraduates funding; and other funding opportunities for travel to participate in technical conferences.
“I was interested in seeing machine learning and AI uses through the projects,” said Chatto, who plans to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in computer science in 2028. “I learned how grad school can apply to your career field. There are many ways you can get into grad school and there are mentors you can network with, which can help you pursue what you want to achieve.”
The goal of the UR2PhD program is to provide undergraduate students with a powerful introduction to research that includes developing a research project with a faculty mentor and a team of fellow undergraduate students.
“One of the most important elements of the UR2PhD program is that it provides students and faculty with funding to support students’ research after they complete the UR2PhD program,” Lopez Morales said. “For example, one of my mentees, Owen Ramsey, completed the program in Fall 2025 and decided to continue working on our research project, and now he is starting a UR2PhD-funded REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) with the goal of writing his first research publication. Additionally, he was awarded a UR2PhD technical conference travel grant to present his preliminary results at the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Security and Privacy Symposium, in one of the premier cybersecurity conferences in the world.”
Once students develop a clear understanding of what research is all about and hone a professional identity along with their research skills, the program gives students the confidence to continue their research and aim toward a graduate degree.
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CUTLINE: From left: New Mexico State University computer science students Logan Flowers, Tom Chatto, Hailey Hudson and Tiffany Monarco stand in front of their poster board presentation about their research titled “Lowering the Barrier to Cyber Deception Education with Containerized Honeypot Labs” at the UR2PhD program in New Orleans. (Courtesy photo)
CUTLINE: New Mexico State University computer science student Eugene Taabazuing at the Computing Research Association’s UR2PhD workshop and research showcase in New Orleans. (Courtesy photo)