Oliver Hall lobby buzzed with conversation yesterday as about 80 students and more than 10 CGI professionals came to
Science Day 2026 Attracted Around 500 High School Students
Thu, 10/08/2026 - 12:00amOn Wednesday, October 7, 2026, Oliver Hall buzzed with energy and curiosity as the School of Computing and Informatics (CMIX) hosted Science Day 2026. We welcomed around 500 high school students from 21 schools in 15 cities across Louisiana. Some came from Lafayette and nearby communities, and others traveled from as far as Tallulah, DeRidder, Lake Charles, Baton Rouge, and Houma.
Faculty members, graduate students, and undergraduate researchers filled Oliver Hall with demonstrations, research posters, and interactive activities. Visitors explored projects in artificial intelligence and machine learning, cybersecurity, satellite security, tiny machine learning and embedded computing, and generative AI tools for online safety. They also joined lab sessions such as the Intelligent Biomedical Data Analytics Lab’s “Can AI Help Doctors See Inside the Body?” Our IEEE and ACM-W student chapters introduced visitors to the campus computing community. Student researchers shared their work directly with attendees, showing what research at UL Lafayette looks like at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The morning wrapped up with a pizza lunch outside Oliver Hall.
Science Day remains one of our best opportunities to introduce prospective students to computing, highlight ongoing research, and showcase faculty and student work. Dr. Michael Totaro, Dr. Sercan Aygun, and Dr. Shuvalaxmi Dass organized this year's event. A big thank-you to our 60 student volunteers, presenters, faculty, and staff, whose enthusiasm made the day a success. We look forward to welcoming many of these students back to CMIX as future Ragin’ Cajuns!
Participating schools: Abbeville High School, Ascension Episcopal School, Berwick High School, Delcambre High School, DeRidder High School, Early College Academy, Ellender Memorial High School, First Baptist Christian School of Lafayette, Houma Christian School, J.S. Clark Leadership Academy High School, Lafayette High School, Loreauville High School, Madison High School, North Vermilion High School, Northdale Superintendent Academy, Northside High School, St. Edmund Catholic School, Washington Marion Magnet High School, West St. Mary High School, Westminster Christian Academy (Lafayette), and Westminster Christian Academy (Opelousas).
