College’s Alumni Network Announces 2017 Summer Undergraduate Award Winners
Six students receive funding
The College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences (CMNS) Alumni Network has announced its 2017 Undergraduate Summer Research, Travel and Educational Enrichment Award winners.
The six recipients will receive awards ranging from $500 to $2,000 to help defray costs related to conducting research or traveling to field courses, conferences or other summer activities that enhance or expand the student’s educational and professional development.
The 2017 award winners and their summer activities are:
Christopher Bambic, a dual degree student in astronomy and physics, will spend his summer working at the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Cambridge in England. There he will use observations from X-ray space telescopes to investigate supermassive black hole feedback in galaxy clusters. In August, he will present his research at the High-Energy Astrophysics Division of the American Astronomical Society meeting in Sun Valley, Idaho. The funds will go towards traveling and research costs.
Justin Lee is a biological sciences major specializing in ecology and evolution who will use the funds to support his work with Smithsonian Institution researchers using radio telemetry to count, locate and track snakes in Wilmer’s Park, an old music venue recently bought by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC). Justin will also help survey the park to detect native reptiles and amphibians and identify any threatened and endangered species. He will use the results to draft a park conservation plan for the M-NCPPC.
Flavia Negrete, a biochemistry major, will use the funds to cover travel to the International Association for Food Protection conference in Tampa, Florida in July 2017. There she will present her research on genetic differences and phylogenetic variation in efflux pumps between different species of Cronobacter, a genus of foodborne bacteria responsible for human disease, particularly in children.
Rhobeca Oliveros is simultaneously pursuing a bachelor’s degree in geology and a master’s degree in secondary science education through the 5-Year Integrated Master’s Program in Secondary Education. The funds will help her to attend a summer geology field course through Southern Utah University, where she will gain hands on experience in mapping, as well as analysis and interpretation of geological features in areas ranging from Bryce Canyon to the Great Basin National Park.
Emilia Roberts is a biological sciences major specializing in ecology and evolution. This summer she will be an intern with Fauna Forever, a non-profit organization based in Puerto Maldonado, Peru. For the internship, Roberts will travel to the Madre de Dios region of Peru to perform field research on birds in Amazon lowland rainforests and cloud forests. The funds will go towards the internship and travel costs.
Nancy Zhang is a biological sciences major with a specialization in physiology and neurobiology and a minor in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender studies. This summer she will be an intern in the Department of Molecular & Comparative Pathobiology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, studying the effect of maternal stress on fetal methylation of genes such as the glucocorticoid receptor. The funds will help defray expenses related to the internship.
