Student's participation in research is one of the most effective avenues for attracting students to, and retaining them in careers in science and engineering, including careers in teaching and education research. The main goal of this journal is to attract students to a publishable research and share the results between students and advisors at CSMT.

Restrictions on smoking in public places have been adopted by numerous local governments in recent decades, and these ordinances have tended to become more stringent over time. Consistent with this trend, the City of Brownsville, Texas on the US-Mexican border expanded its smoking ban to include bars and restaurants effective in February of 2013. The purpose of smoking restrictions is to provide a healthier environment for both patrons and workers, and one measure of the effectiveness of such measures is change in the level of harmful agents such as Particulate Matter 2.5 in public establishments. An Environmental Science class from the University of Texas at Brownsville completed a service learning project that involved monitoring the change in PM 2.5 in the air at Brownsville nightclubs for the weeks immediately following adoption of the more restrictive smoking ban, and the results showed a noticeable reduction and stabilization of the background levels of PM 2.5. The median readings for one bar dropped from 41 to 6 for one establishment and from 108 to 52 for a second establishment. This offers evidence that the expanded smoking ban is an effective measure to promote the health of both patrons and workers in the hospitality industry.