Three UConn undergraduates, three graduate students, and six alumni have earned National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships (NSF-GRFP).

The oldest graduate fellowship of its kind, the NSF-GRFP recognizes and supports outstanding students in NSF-supported disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited institutions in the United States. In addition to a three-year annual stipend of $34,000, plus another $12,000 paid to the student’s home institution, fellows have access to a wide range of professional development opportunities over the course of their graduate careers.

The Graduate Research Fellowships are highly competitive, with annual acceptance rates of about 14% from among more than 12,000 applicants.

“The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship is the gold standard when it comes to federally-funded fellowships for aspiring scientists,” says Vin Moscardelli, Director of UConn’s Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships. “These fellowships are investments in both the science and the scientist. This national recognition reflects not only the quality and significance of the research the students are proposing to conduct, but on the potential of these students to make a mark in their chosen fields.”

The number of recipients from UConn has been on the rise over the years, with an average of 5.75 recipients from 2012-2015, and now an average of 11 in the years since.

“The best part of helping students with this and other fellowship applications is, most times after the student hits submit and then I get an email from the student stating no matter the outcome, they are really glad they did this,” says Rowena Grainger, the STEM Fellowship Advisor in the Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships. “This is when students recognize the value of the process itself. In applying for the NSF GRFP, among other things, students have the opportunity to clarify their research and academic goals, improve their writing skills, learn to manage the critical application feedback process. These are skills that they will continue to build on in their graduate careers and beyond.”

The three undergraduate recipients are:

Christopher Choi ’20 (ENG), of Storrs, is graduating with dual bachelor’s degrees in history and materials science and engineering. He has been involved in a range of research activities and labs at UConn, focusing on topics from thermoelectrics to archaeological materials. In addition to receiving the NSF-GRFP, Choi is a member of the honors program, a recipient of a Summer Undergraduate Research Fund award, and was one of the student speakers at the 2018 School of Engineering Scholarship Award Ceremony. Choi has been a member of UConn Model UN for four years, serving as a committee director from fall 2017 to fall 2019, and was involved in the Engineering Ambassadors for four years, serving as the group’s president from spring 2018 to spring 2019. In the fall of 2020, he will begin his doctoral studies at Stanford, where he hopes to contribute to biomaterials research.

Ariane Garrett ’20 (ENG), of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering. Throughout her time at UConn, she was an undergraduate researcher in the Hoshino Laboratory and benefited greatly from the mentorship of Dr. Kazunori Hoshino. She is a STEM Scholar, Honors Scholar, and University Scholar. Garrett was named a Goldwater Scholar in April 2019. She was the recipient of a Holster Scholarship, SURF grant and IDEA grant from UConn. Garrett interned at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine in Boston during the summer of 2019. She will pursue her doctorate in biomedical engineering at Boston University.

Brittany Smith ’20 (ENG), of Orange, is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering with a minor in mathematics. Smith has been involved in a number of research activities, including interning through the Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program at the Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory in Groton. There she did nanotechnology research with Dr. Ali Gokirmak, and researched wearable biosensors with Dr. Ki Chon. Smith worked on an independent project with two other electrical engineering undergraduate students, during which they developed a robot that shoots candy into a person’s mouth using facial recognition and tracking. This work was published in a paper to the 2019 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers MIT Undergraduate Conference. Smith has been a member of the Women in Math, Science, and Engineering learning community for three years, holding mentoring positions during her sophomore and junior years. She has been an undergraduate teaching assistant, the vice president of the Navy STEM program at UConn, and the treasurer for Eta Kappa Nu, the electrical and computer engineering honor society, and the Women in Math, Science and Engineering clubs. Smith was involved with a number of outreach activities including serving as a UConn tour guide and a member of UConn’s Engineering Ambassadors. She will be pursuing her doctorate this fall at Duke with research focused on the development and application of biosensors.

The three graduate student recipients are:

Rosalie Bordett ’17 (CLAS) of Simsbury, who is a second-year doctoral student in the biomedical sciences graduate program at UConn Health. She received her undergraduate degree from UConn in biomedical engineering with minors in material science and chemistry. During her undergraduate studies, she was both a Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation scholar and Health Career Opportunity Program scholar. Bordett received the UConn Chemistry Summer Fellowship and worked at UMass-Amherst under NSF funded project as a researcher. Prior to graduate school as the laboratory manager at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center-Innovation Center, Bordett conducted research on bioinstrumentation. Her graduate research work at UConn Health in Dr. Sangamesh Kumbar’s laboratory in the departments of orthopedic surgery and biomedical engineering is focused on the synergistic effects of physical and chemical stimulation in the regeneration of peripheral nerves. She is a co-author of multiple research publications in the areas of biomaterials and tissue engineering.

Matthew Howell of Boiling Springs, S.C., is a first-year doctoral student in the chemistry department, in the lab of Dr. Alfredo Angeles. Howell earned his undergraduate degree at Wofford College. He is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. Howell has conducted research at the European Bioinformatics Institute, Virginia Tech, and Yale, with published research articles in Genome Research and The Journal of Biological Chemistry. This summer, he plans to continue working with undergraduates Ana Wenc ’23 (CLAS) and Rosanna Airo ’22 (CLAS) in exploring synergy between metals, peptides, and antibiotics as a tool to combat the problem of antibiotic-resistant pathogens.

Jackson Lautier ’11 (CLAS), is a native of Southington and currently resides in West Hartford. He is a first-year doctoral student in the Department of Statistics and his research concentrates on applications of statistics to economics, finance, risk management, and actuarial science.  He is particularly interested in using statistics to improve access of disadvantaged groups to the capitalist financial system.  Previously to his doctoral studies, Lautier spent more than eight years working Prudential Financial, Inc. as an actuary in various roles, including risk management, investment strategy, and quantitative finance.  He was also an adjunct instructor in the Department of Mathematics at UConn in the 2018-2019 academic year.  Lautier is a fellow of the Society of Actuaries, a Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst, and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.  Lautier graduated with an undergraduate degree in mathematics/actuarial science from UConn.

Six additional UConn alumni who are now pursuing graduate studies elsewhere also earned NSF Graduate Research Fellowships:

Helen Belato ’18 (CLAS), who is studying structural biology at Brown University; Laurel Gibson ’18 (CLAS), who is studying social psychology at the University of Colorado; Celia Guillard ’15 (CLAS), who is studying social psychology at the University of Pennsylvania; Alexandra Oliveira ’19 (ENG, CLAS), who is studying chemical engineering at the University of Delaware; Nicholas Russo ’18 (CLAS), who is studying ecology at UCLA; and Margaret Webb ’15 (CLAS, BUS), who is studying cognitive psychology at Brown University.

by Mike Enright

Please visit https://today.uconn.edu/2020/04/students-earn-national-science-foundation-graduate-research-fellowship/ to view the original article.

In the fall of 2017, Tristian Wiles ’21 arrived on a college campus more populous than his hometown. That’s probably a more common experience for students attending a flagship state university than for those enrolled at a small liberal arts institution like Hendrix College. But Wiles came from the northeastern Arkansas community of Ash Flat, which has a population of about 1,100.

As a first-generation student from a rural area, Wiles admits to being uncertain about whether he would be a good fit for college life. “But from the friendly housekeepers and caf workers to my dependable professors, everyone has always made me feel at home in the Hendrix community,” he says.

It’s evident that Wiles feels at home at Hendrix (a feeling so common among students that the campus has earned the name Homedrix). He’s excelled as a biochemistry/molecular biology (BCMB) major and added a philosophy minor to his academic pursuits. Outside of classes and labs, he has participated in the BCMB Club, the Hendrix chapter of the American Chemical Society, and Hendrix Naturalists Club. And drawing on his experience as a first-generation college student, Wiles connects with students following paths similar to his own by serving as a mentor for the IRIS Program: Increasing Retention and Inclusion in STEM.

This spring, he learned he’d been accepted into three summer research programs—at Yale, Duke, and UT Southwestern, all programs affiliated with the Amgen Scholars Program (funded by the Amgen Foundation, the principal channel for biotech company Amgen’s corporate philanthropy). He ultimately chose Yale, and was waiting to be matched with a research lab there when he learned that this summer’s program would be canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. He will be able to attend in the summer of 2021, though.

“Because of that delay, I still don’t know exactly what I’ll study, but it will be some type of biomedical science, likely to do with genetics and molecular biology,” he said.

By that time, Wiles will have his Hendrix degree, and plans to move on to pursue a Ph.D. in the biomedical sciences. His ultimate goal: teaching and conducting research at the college and university level. It’s one way he plans to pay forward the benefits of his own Hendrix education.

“I have found such a strong academic support group at Hendrix,” he says. “I would never have gained the qualifications for these programs without the help of my research advisors, and I certainly could not have written the essays necessary for strong applications without the guidance of my humanities professors and scholarship advisors.”

Wiles believes in the power of making research opportunities available to undergraduate students because he has benefited from it himself.

“I was able to start doing research as early as the end of my freshman year, and completed three projects by the time I was a junior. I started with research in ecology, and, thanks to the guidance of my research advisors, I had homed in on my passion for molecular biology by the end of my third project,” he says. “Hendrix opens so many doors for students interested in undergraduate scientific research.”

Text courtesy of Hendrix College Media Relations Team. To view the original article, please visit https://www.hendrix.edu/tristian-wiles-2020.aspx

For the first time in its 14-year history, the Georgia State Undergraduate Research Conference has awarded three faculty members for their commitment to mentoring student research.

The conference, also known as GSURC, is an annual showcase hosted by the Honors College of undergraduate research ranging across all disciplines and topics.

“Nominations for the 2020 GSURC Faculty Research Awards came from more than 10 different academic units, which highlights the breadth of outstanding undergraduate research being done at Georgia State,” said Amy Reber, a senior lecturer in biology and the Honors College Faculty Associate for GSURC. “The pool was incredibly competitive and the awards committee was impressed by the phenomenal work being done by all of the nominees.”

Jamae Morris, assistant professor of African-American studies, is the recipient of the 2020 Faculty Award for Undergraduate Faculty Mentored Creative Projects and Research in Fine Arts and the Humanities. Morris is the organizer of the university’s African-American Undergraduate Research Colloquium (AURC) and has mentored 25 undergraduate researchers.

Daniel Cox, professor of neuroscience and biology and director of the Center of Neuromics in the College of Arts & Sciences, is the recipient of the 2020 Faculty Award for Undergraduate Project or Laboratory-Based Research. Cox has mentored more than 50 individual student research projects over the last 15 years and dozens of his students have submitted conference abstracts, received prestigious national awards, and pursued graduate education and career paths related to the work they conducted under Cox’s supervision.

Frank Williams, professor of anthropology, is the recipient of the 2020 Faculty Award for Undergraduate Mentored Research in Policy, Entrepreneurship, Education and Social Sciences. Williams has mentored more than 30 GSURC presenters over the years and more than a dozen honors students who have written theses and presented at state-level conferences. He also works with undergraduates in Georgia State’s Dental Micro-wear Laboratory, which has led to many graduate school and career opportunities for students.

Each award is valued at $300 and winners were selected by a committee of faculty including last year’s recipient.

This is also the first year GSURC will be a virtual event, in keeping with public health and university system guidelines surrounding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

GSURC 2020 will take place later this month on an online video platform where students can record and upload their presentations to be judged by expert faculty. The winning presentations will be announced at the end of April and posted to the GSURC website.

“We know how much time and energy our students have invested in their research projects, and so the GSURC faculty advisory board is pleased to offer everyone the opportunity to present and be recognized for their work in a virtual conference,” Reber said.

Test courtesy of Georgia State University, News Hub.

Please visit https://news.gsu.edu/2020/04/06/gsurc2020facultyawards/ to view the orginal article. 

Vanderbilt University sophomores Ashwin Kumar and Abinaya Ramakrishnan and junior Amelia Taylor are among the 2020 recipients of the Goldwater Scholarship—awarded to undergraduate STEM students who show exceptional promise of becoming the nation’s next generation of research leaders.

They are among 396 college students across the United States who were selected as Goldwater Scholars from a field of 1,343 nominees. The Goldwater Scholarships are one- and two-year scholarships that contribute up to $7,500 per year toward educational expenses.

Ashwin Kumar, of Irving, Texas, is enrolled in the School of Engineering with a triple major in computer science, neuroscience and applied math.

“Ashwin works with three faculty members in two departments on impactful research projects while also leading one student organization and serving as an officer of another,” said Philippe Fauchet, Bruce and Bridgitt Evans Dean of Engineering. “Goldwater Scholars are extraordinary students, and I congratulate Ashwin on the award of this prestigious scholarship.”

As an undergraduate, Kumar has been conducting interdisciplinary research between the Human Imaging Lab, directed by Seth Smith, associate professor of radiology and radiological sciences; the Medical Analysis and Statistic Interpolation Lab, directed by Bennett Landman, associate professor of electrical engineering, computer engineering and computer science; and with Kurt Schilling, research assistant professor of radiology and radiological sciences.

“I am pursuing collaborative image acquisition and analysis research to create and analyze pediatric spinal cord maps for detecting pediatric pathologies,” Kumar said. “Specifically, I have conducted random effects modeling to better understand pediatric spinal cord development through Jacobian analysis.”

A Vanderbilt Chancellor’s Scholar, Kumar aspires to earn a doctorate in biomedical engineering, with a specialization in imaging science. He plans to study the intersection among image analysis, high performance computing and statistical optimization. Conducting research on biomaterial optimization and teaching at the university level are among his career goals.

Kumar serves as president of Vanderbilt Project RISHI, which works to provide financially sustainable solutions to core problems within Indian villages. He is also secretary of the Vanderbilt Biomedical Engineering Society.

The other two recipients, Abinaya Ramakrishnan and Amelia Taylor, are enrolled in the College of Arts and Science.

“Having two students from Arts and Science selected for one of the nation’s intensely competitive STEM scholarships is a testament to the quality of our undergraduate research experience,” said John Geer, Ginny and Conner Searcy Dean of the College of Arts and Science and professor of political science. “We are extremely proud of Abinaya and Amelia and look forward to seeing the impact of their discoveries in the years to come.”

Ramakrishnan, of Lisle, Illinois, is a double major in biological sciences and medicine, health and society. Her research experiences include working with Dr. Miklos Kertai, professor of anesthesiology, to understand postoperative complications following cardiac surgery.

“Since my freshman year, I have been investigating how mean platelet volume can be used to predict postoperative risk for acute kidney injury following cardiac surgery and minimally invasive procedures, like the transcatheter aortic valve replacement,” Ramakrishnan said. She has also contributed to basic sciences research on mosquito heart physiology under Julián Hillyer, associate professor of biological sciences.

“Being a Goldwater Scholar validates the efforts I have put into research starting from my sophomore year of high school and further motivates me to continue my research journey,” Ramakrishnan said. As an Ingram Scholar, Ramakrishnan has a strong commitment to community service. She volunteers with Hope Clinic, NAMI Tennessee and Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and serves on the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Young Adult Leadership Council.

Ramakrishnan plans to earn a doctorate in epidemiology and clinical investigations and pursue a research-based career devoted to understanding and predicting postoperative complications following surgery. “I hope that through these clinical investigations, we can reduce the number of postoperative complications after surgery and pave a path to a faster recovery,” she said.

Taylor, of Bristol, Tennessee, is a double major in chemistry and philosophy. She is affiliated with the McLean Research Group Laboratory for Structural Mass, led by Stevenson Professor of Chemistry John A. McLean.

“It is so gratifying to be named a Goldwater Scholar and to be recognized for my research ability and potential to complete a doctorate in chemistry, because it is something I am so passionate about,” Taylor said. “It confirms my notion that this is the correct career path for me.”

She plans to pursue a doctorate in chemistry followed by a clinical chemistry fellowship. Her career goals include conducting interdisciplinary research in bioanalytical chemistry and teaching at the university level.

“My research focuses on better understanding the link between diet and Alzheimer’s disease through quantitative metabolomics,” Taylor said. “Currently, I am studying the changes that occur in amino acid metabolism in a mouse model of familial Alzheimer’s disease and obesity/diabetes.”

Taylor serves as president of the Vanderbilt University QuestBridge Chapter, a scholarship organization for high-achieving, low-income students. She is also a student fellow in the SyBBURE Searle Undergraduate Research Program.

Taylor encourages sophomores to apply for the Goldwater even if they are unsure if they will be competitive. “I applied my sophomore year and was not selected as a nominee, but because I had experience with the process, I was able to re-apply my junior year as a stronger candidate,” Taylor said. “Writing and communicating are skills you have to practice to learn, and the Goldwater application provides valuable practice in scientific communication for other fellowships, grad school applications and beyond.”

The Goldwater Scholarship Program, established by Congress in 1986 in honor of the late Sen. Barry Goldwater, seeks to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue research careers in the fields of the natural sciences, engineering and mathematics. Vanderbilt is among 461 institutions whose institutional representatives submitted nominations for 2020.

The following faculty served on this academic year’s nomination and review committee: Beth Bowman, assistant director, Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine; Lauren Buchanan, assistant professor of chemistry; Craig Duvall, professor of biomedical engineering and director of undergraduate studies; Todd Peterson, faculty director of the Office of Honor Scholarships and associate professor of radiology and radiological sciences; and Paul Sheldon, professor of physics and astronomy.

by Ann Marie Deer Owens

Please visit https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2020/04/02/three-vanderbilt-stem-students-named-goldwater-scholars-for-2020/ to view the original article.