Texas State University Innovation Lab

Celebrating Student Innovation at Texas State
The Texas State University (TXST) Innovation Lab is an opportunity for Texas State research teams to showcase their projects at the TXST Innovation Lab. With help from corporate partners and mentors, Bobcat innovators are using and creating breakthrough technologies to translate their ideas into transformative solutions that solve real-world problems.
Corporate sponsors will have the opportunity to support the TXST Innovation Lab. Contact Anna Chowdhury, achowdhury@txstate.edu for more information.
2020 TXST Innovation Lab Teams
Incident Reporting App for Fire Services
Department of English
Team Sponsor: Dr. Amy Roundtree
Team Members: Caitlin Starks, Jessica Schneider, Elizabeth Esparza
This app was created to assist firefighters in using the National Fire Incident Reporting Standards(NFIRS). It combines the NFIRS Complete Reference Guide with evidence about best practices from an integrative review on incident reporting and gamification of samples to help first responders improve the accuracy and completeness of incident reports.
Eye Movements in Virtual Reality: Biometrics and Health Assessment
Department of Computer Science
Sponsors: Dr. Oleg Komogortsev, NSF, Google, NIST
Team Members: Dillon Lohr, Vladyslav Prokopenko, Dmytro Katrychuk, Samantha Aziz, Eugene Hanson, Henry Griffith
This project introduces eye movement-driven biometrics to virtual reality (VR). This exploration of eye movement is able to extract 3D eye movements in VR that could lead to improved biometric performance.
Muon Detecting Satellite

Department of Physics
Sponsor: Dr. Rangelov
Team Members: Evan Jellison, Kelly Stephenson
The goal of this project is to determine how muons, a type of subatomic particle, interact with our atmosphere as they travel close to the speed of light. We will achieve this goal by placing a muon detector on a small satellite orbiting close to Earth. The data collected will be broadcast using amateur radio frequencies and available to citizen scientists to analyze.
Beats and Lyrics to Go: Mobile Spaces for Learning and Healing
School of Social Work, Office of Student Diversity and Inclusion and Hip Hop Congress
Sponsors: Raphael Travis, Ray Cordero, Quentin Williams
Team Members: Raphael Travis, Ray Cordero, Quentin Williams, Daniel Boskind
This project creates mobile opportunities for music engagement for children, youth, and young adults. It draws from research on the positive effects of structured and unstructured music engagement on well-being and learning. The Soundlab provides hands-on opportunities to engage music but is also used to develop or reinforce musical and music-related skills.
AR/IoT and AmBus
Ingram School of Engineering
Sponsor: Dr. George Koutitas
Team Members: George Koutitas, Chaitanya Vyas, Shashwat Vyas, Vinay Lokesh, Shivesh Jadon
Researchers present a novel system of architecture and implementation that integrates Augmented Reality (AR) and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to create a 4D experience that enables users to interact with IoT networks through avatars and holograms.
Detecting Diagnostic Bias Via Social Network Analysis
College of Science and Engineering, Department of Computer Science, Department of Mathematics
Sponsors: Dr. Jelena Tesic, Dr. Lucas Rusnak
Team Members: Benjamin Bond, Eric Hull, Maria Tomasso, Jelena Tesic, Lucas Rusnak
Students introduce a robust new system to characterize and detect bias in social networks using signed graph analysis. The system is based on proven sociological and psychological balance models as well as a new metric called agreeable bias that measures group influence.
Design for America - Human Centered Design for Mental Health
Communication Design
Sponsors: Claudia Roeschmann and Alice J. Lee
Team Members: Mikaela Buck, Thi Nguyen, Sara Mitschke, Kiera Bailey, Seth Austin, Samantha Stine
Students tackle social challenges creating impact through innovation. Our studio is a space for learning through empathy, collaboration, leadership, and creativity. We believe students have the capacity to take on any challenge and make an impact even while still studying to become the future leaders of change.
Designing Mobile Apps for Inclusion and Mobility
School of Art and Design
Sponsor: MiHyun Kim
Team Members: Jasmine Betty, Logan Brannen, Leonardo Cantoran, Isaiah Guzman, Juliana Ratchford
Students are designing mobile apps by considering a wide spectrum of diversity and inclusion. Design merged with technology has the power to open up societal dialogues, to engage with a broader scope of people, and to improve the products, moments and experiences in life.
Litterbug: Autonomous Litter Collection
Department of Electrical Engineering
Sponsors: Mr. Lee Hinkle and Dr. Bill Stapleton
Team Members: Ryan Stoneking, Tel Rosipal, Stephen Hamilton, Isaac Lopez
Students created an autonomous robot that will find, collect, and dispose of four different types of trash while communicating with another autonomous robot "Litterbug" and command that robot to stop littering.
SolarSno Shaved Ice
Department of Sociology, Sustainability Studies
Sponsors: Janet Hale and McCoy College of Business Net Impact Student Group
Team Members: Thomas Myers, Janet Hale
SolarSno Shaved Ice is a series of fully solar/battery-powered, clean energy food trucks operating three locations in the city of Austin, Texas which sell Hawaiian Shaved Ice and prioritize sustainable business practices.
App for People with Autism Spectrum Disorder
College of Health Professions (Communication Disorders) and Ingram School of Engineering
Sponsors: Maria Resendiz and Damian Valles
Team Members: Maria Resendiz, Damian Valles Molina, Rezwan Matin, Anna Stewart
Students designed an app to allow people with ASD to use a smart device to identify the emotion of their communication partner. Identifying emotions is difficult for people with ASD. The use of the app in conjunction with support from a speech-language pathologist will serve as a tool to help the person with ASD interact in socially appropriate ways.
3D Printing with Recycled Material
Ingram School of Engineering
Sponsors: Dr. Austin Talley
Team Members: Genisis Segundo, Heba Afify, Austin Benjamin, Brandon McDearman, Adrian Medina
Students designed and developed a process that turns a recyclable material sourced from campus into 3-D Printing filament. The process will consist of collecting locally sourced recyclable material from campus, cleaning, shredding, drying, extruding, and spooling filament that will be tested and optimized at Texas State University Ingram Hall.