Passion and Purpose - Fall 2023 Science Student and Faculty News

Another Goldwater scholar from Team Science!

Kimberly Truong has been named a 2023 Goldwater Scholar – the nation’s highest award for undergraduate students in natural science, engineering or mathematics. Double majoring in mathematics and computer science, Truong intends to obtain a Ph.D. in machine learning and pursue a university faculty position that will allow her to conduct research at the intersection of machine learning and software engineering.

The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation was established by Congress in 1986 in honor of Barry Goldwater, a U.S. senator from Arizona. Truong is the 45th student in OSU history to receive this award and the 25th from Team Science, building on the College’s impressive track record of training high-achieving undergraduates.

NSF awards high-achieving science grads

Four College of Science graduate students have been selected for the prestigious NSF Graduate Student Research Fellowship Program.

Luke Bobay is an integrative biology Ph.D. candidate at the Hatfield Marine Science Center Plankton Ecology Lab. He currently explores the climate change effects on northern anchovy populations off the Pacific Northwest coast.

Olivia Burleigh is an integrative biology Ph.D. candidate working with Virginia Weis. She studies the symbiotic relationship between coral and algae and its implications for coral health.

Caroline Hernandez is a microbiology Ph.D. student working with Maude David. She studies the interactions between sensory gut cells and neurons, particularly in the context of autism spectrum and anxiety disorders.

Sunni Patton is a microbiology Ph.D. student working with Rebecca Vega Thurber. Her work focuses on understanding microbiome resilience and sensitivity in response to environmental stressors in endangered Caribbean coral.

GEM Fellowship recipient says he’ll pay it forward

Mathematics Ph.D. student Fernando Angulo Barba received the GEM Fellowship, a prestigious national program promoting the participation of underrepresented groups in postgraduate science and engineering.

As a father to a one-year old son, the support is especially appreciated. Now, he aims to help others. “I’ve been lucky and fortunate enough to get support while being a minority in STEM, so being a professor or someone who works in a lab would allow me to pay it forward.”

Top 1,000 female scientist gives 2023 Gilfillan Lecture

Trailblazing physics professor Heidi Schellman presented the 2023 F.A. Gilfillan Memorial Lecture, “Dealing with big data: What to do when your neutrino detector is the size of a building.” Schellman shared her personal journey as a scientist and her fascination with neutrinos –mysterious particles that could hold answers to the universe. Her current research, the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, focuses on using neutrinos to study why the universe is made up of matter instead of antimatter.

The F.A. Gilfillan Award is the College’s highest research award, honoring faculty whose scholarship and scientific accomplishments have extended over a substantial period of time. In January, Schellman was one of two OSU researchers to be included in a list of the world’s top 1,000 female scientists, compiled by Research.com.

A prestigious award for esteemed chemist

In June, chemistry professor May Nyman joined a prestigious group of 26 other chemists to be honored by the American Chemical Society with the F. Albert Cotton Award in Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry. Since 2004, the society has annually recognized one individual for their distinguished and outstanding accomplishments.

Read more about Nyman's work and accolades.

World-renowned coral reef pioneer named an AAAS Fellow

University Distinguished Professor Virginia Weis has been elected a fellow of the esteemed American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest multidisciplinary scientific society.

Honored in the category of biological sciences, Weis was commended for her distinguished contributions to the field of coral reef biology. She is the 19th College of Science faculty member to be elected as an AAAS Fellow.

Learn more about Weis's award.

Tuning in to songbird survival

Inclement weather hits differently when you weigh less than 50 grams. As storms increase in frequency and severity, understanding birds’ survival mechanisms may be critical to protecting them.

Assistant Professor Jamie Cornelius received a coveted National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award to measure the energy and fitness costs of metabolic and behavioral strategies used by songbirds during inclement weather.

Cornelius will use her five-year, $1.5 million award to study songbirds within different seasonal contexts. CAREER awards are the NSF’s most prestigious in support of early-career faculty.