Newest Members of the Society of Self Fellows

Kalin Baca, Ph.D. (2020-2024 Fellow) holds an M.S. in chemical engineering (2019), MBA with a concentration in organizational behavior (2019), and B.S. in chemical engineering with a concentration in bioengineering and a minor in business management (2018) from the University of New Mexico. Her doctoral research is focused on the separation of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerant mixtures using ionic liquids. This research is part of Project EARTH (Environmentally Applied Research Toward Hydrofluorocarbons) that is focused on identifying sustainable processes for the selective separation of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerant mixtures. Kalin is now serving as the Chief Operating Officer for Icorium.

Dalton A. Brucker-Hahn, Ph.D. (2019-2023 Fellow) received a B.S. (2018) in computer science from Kansas State University and an M.S. (2020) in computer science from the University of Kansas. His doctoral research focused on applying Moving Target Defense techniques to computer networks in order to make them more dynamic and to better predict, resist, and recover from cyber-attacks. His current interest is to better model and incorporate cybersecurity concerns in cloud orchestration tools as an enabling technology for future Moving Target Defense applications. He is now a Senior Research Scientist for the Sandia National Laboratories.

Katie Childers (2019-2023 Fellow) is pursuing a Ph.D. in bioengineering. Childers, originally from Northville, MI, graduated magna cum laude and received her B.S. (2019) in biomedical engineering with a minor in physics from Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA. At Bucknell University, she was a two-time member of the Academic All-Patriot League Women’s Golf Team and founded a community service house on campus that provided engineering students the opportunity to complete outreach in the local community. Her current research is focused on developing diagnostic microfluidic systems for point-of-care testing. She plans to continue this work in precision medicine after graduation with the ultimate goal of transforming the one-size-fits-all approach to healthcare into a more individualized approach for improved patient care. Mentor: Dr. Steven Soper, KU Foundation Distinguished Professor, Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering

Jenna Frick, Ph.D. (2019-2023 Fellow) received her Ph.D. in neuroscience at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Frick received a B.A. (2015) in chemistry and a license in secondary education from

Washburn University, Topeka, KS. Realizing her interest in science and education, Frick taught chemistry and biology at Blue Valley North high school from 2015-2018 before pursuing graduate school. Frick’s Ph.D. research focuses on early life stress-induced co-morbid disorders. Exposure to stress early in life has been associated with adult-onset comorbidities including chronic pain, obesity-related metabolic disorder, and physical inactivity. Altered regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has been linked to these syndromes; however, the underlying mechanism that links these disorders together remains unknown. Previous data has shown that a high-fat/high-sucrose diet exacerbates outcomes induced by early life stress such as increased body weight, fat mass, and food consumption. Frick hopes to identify the underlying mechanisms contributing to early life stress-induced weight gain and changes in appetite. Due to her experience as both a student and a teacher, Frick is passionate about improving quality of science education. Frick is now a postdoc in Julie Christianson’s lab at the KU Medical Center.

Jordan Gamble (2019-2023 Fellow) is pursuing a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at the University of Kansas. She received a B.S. (2019) in mechanical engineering with a concentration in control, instrumentation and robotics and a minor in applied international studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Her undergraduate work focused mainly on the design and implementation of robotics systems. For her Ph.D., she aims to apply this work towards product design within the biomedical technology sector. Gamble is currently doing preliminary work on bone regeneration techniques using external mechanical and electrical stimuli. More specifically, she is working on designing a bioreactor system to house 3D cell scaffolds and supply mechanically synced electrical stimulation for improved tissue growth. Gamble is passionate about creating products that improve patient care and translating these technologies across national borders. Mentor: Elizabeth A. Friis, Professor, Mechanical Engineering

Taylor George , Ph.D., (2020-2024 Fellow) received a B.S. (2018) and M.S. (2020) in aerospace engineering from the University of Kansas. Her research is on artificial neural networks for low-thrust trajectory design and optimization with a focus on using long short-term memory artificial neural networks for the low-thrust, orbit-raising problem. In addition to her research, she is a member of KUbeSat. She i snow an Areospace Engineer with the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory.

Eryn Gerber, Ph.D., (2019-2023 Fellow) received her Ph.D. in bioengineering with a focus in biomechanics and neural engineering from the University of Kansas in 2022. She completed her B.S. in biomedical engineering at the University of Delaware in 2018 and M.S in bioengineering at the University of Kansas in 2020. Her current research in the KU Biodynamics Research Lab revolves around the measurement and treatment of balance deficits in the aging population, with the primary goal of preventing life-threatening falls. She takes an interdisciplinary approach, working with both engineers and clinicians to develop patient-relevant metrics and intervention strategies. She is now working for Exponent in Irvine, California.

Jacob Immel, Ph.D., (2019-2023 Fellow) received his Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry from the University of Kansas in December 2022. In 2018, he received his B.S. in chemistry from Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, MO. After completing two summers of research at the University of Missouri as a Steven’s Summer Research Fellow, Immel discovered his passion for research. Now he seeks to combine his love for chemistry with his passion to improve the quality of human life through the study of medicinal chemistry. His research investigates the development of new methods for synthesizing peptide therapeutics with the goal of treating HIV and small cell lung cancer. Immel is now an Assistant Professor at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri.

Shaun Kelsey (2019-2023 Fellow) is pursuing a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry at the University of Kansas. He received a B.S. (2012) in chemical engineering, with a focus on material science from the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY. Following his graduation, Kelsey spent the next five years serving as an officer in the U.S. Army before deciding to return to academia and receiving a B.S. (2019) in chemistry from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS. Originally, his research was in the development of a series of complexes that could be used to study how different ligand interactions affect the Lewis acidity of uranyl, the common from that uranium takes in the environment. However, his interests have now shifted to the area of functional materials. Specifically, his current research focuses on the synthesis, complexation and characterization of Azulene-containing molecular building blocks that could be used in molecular conductors and rectifiers. Mentor: Mikhail Barybin, Professor, Department of Chemistry

Margaret R. Lazarovits (2019-2023 Fellow) is pursuing a Ph.D. in physics at the University of Kansas. Originally from Santa Barbara, CA, she received her B.A. with general honors in physics and a minor in theater and performance studies from the University of Chicago in 2018. Lazarovits’ PhD dissertation work is on using precision timing and unsupervised machine learning to classify jets at the Large Hadron Collider with the CMS Experiment. Her Masters of Science in Computational Physics thesis was developing a novel method for estimating the fake leptonic background for her group’s search for dark matter. Previously, she

tested the mechanical robustness of bump bonds for timing detector sensor prototypes in a collaboration with KU Mechanical Engineering. Outside of the lab, Lazarovits founded Learning Machine Learning, an i interdisciplinary organization that meets weekly to discuss machine learning and its applications in scientific research, in Spring 2019. She also founded the Physics and Astronomy Graduate Student Organization in Spring 2021 and is a former executive officer. Lazarovits is also a Fall 2022 intern for UVF Crossroads, a venture capital program for and by students. Mentor: Christopher Rogan, J.D. Stranathan Assistant Professor of Experimental Physics, Physics and Astronomy

Kathleen Rust (2019-2023 Fellow) is pursuing a Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology. She received a B.A. (2012) with high honors in anthropology and German from the University of Texas at Austin. She earned an M.A. in anthropology (2018) from Hunter College City University of New York. Her master’s thesis work involved collecting data from fossils to investigate the phylogenetic affinities and origins of sivaladapids – an extinct group of adapiform primates. Her thesis research suggests new possible evolutionary scenario for the origins and evolution of Sivaladapidae. During her graduate studies in New York City, Rust was recruited as a biological anthropology educator at the American Museum of Natural history (AMNH). Her role at the AMNH enabled her to share the science of the latest research in paleontology and communicate the importance of evolution and genomics with museum visitors of all ages. As a doctoral student, Rust continues to study adapiform systematics, and her dissertation research investigates the purported evolutionary trade-off between vision and olfaction in early primate evolution. By studying the fossils of primates and genomes of living mammals, her research explores modularity and morphological integration of the maxillofacial skeleton to test if changes in the facial anatomy reflect this trade-off between the visual and olfactory sensory systems in the fossil record of primates. In addition to research, Rust remains active in outreach and education for local audiences through the KU Museum of Natural History and Biodiversity Institute. Mentor: K. Christopher Beard, Senior Curator- Biodiversity Institute, Distinguished Foundation Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Tristan Yount, Ph.D., (2019-2023 Fellow) received his Ph.D. in civil engineering with an emphasis on steel fatigue and fracture from the University of Kansas. He received a B.S. in architectural engineering with the highest distinction (2017) and an M.S. in civil engineering (2020) from KU. As an undergraduate student, Yount began researching the embrittlement of the heat-affected zone surrounding steel welds and how this impacts serviceability and safety. Continuing into graduate school at KU, his research has included welded wire reinforcement properties, jumbo section cold-cracking, and categorizing bolted fatigue details, as well as a forensic investigation into fatigue cracking of high-mast illumination poles for the Kansas Department of Transportation.