UNM McNair ROP

Today marks the end of our first week in the 2022 Summer Research Internship! To celebrate the many accomplishments we've already begun to see in our scholars we would like to share just a few fun moments from our May retreat.

The retreat is meant as a way to gear up for the summer and to build a sense of camaraderie within the cohort. Amongst other activities, during the retreat our scholars participated in a low ropes course, performed skits, and challenged each other to a paper tower building competition.

To each of our scholars, thank you for your engagement and your willingness to support one another through a very challenging but rewarding summer.

Nice work team!

Congratulations to Abrianna Morales for being announced a 2022 Truman Scholar!

Abrianna was one of 58 undergraduates who were all awarded based on their records of leadership, public service, and academic achievement. We are very proud to have Abrianna in our program doing research this summer.

Read more at https://news.unm.edu/news/abrianna-morales-named-2022-truman-scholar.

Congratulations to our first year McNair scholar, Christine Gleicher, for being named the 2022-2023 Goldwater Scholar!

This scholarship seeks to recognize distinguished students in the fields of mathematics, science, and engineering. Christine was chosen from a pool of more than 5,000 other undergraduates from 433 schools!!

Read more at http://news.unm.edu/news/christine-gleicher-named-2022-2023-goldwater-scholar.

Although the priority deadline has passed, we are still accepting applications for the 2022-2023 academic year until all our positions are filled. If you're interested in our program, we encourage you to apply! Visit our website, mcnair.unm.edu, and email [email protected] with questions.

Earlier this month we held our yearly Emerging Scholars Ceremony to celebrate the amazing achievements of our graduating scholars and the induction of our new scholars into our prestigious programs. This year we were proud to have featured McNair/ROP Alumna Keynote Speaker, Dr. Tiffany Montoya, visiting Assistant Professor of the Department of Philosophy at Muhlenherg College. Dr. Montoya left our scholars with encouraging words on the ups, downs, and unexpected trials of graduate education.

As always, your support of our scholars and our program is truly invaluable to the success of our students-- Thank you!!!

The University of California, Berkeley is hosting a virtual Graduate Diversity Admissions Fair, Monday, Oct. 18 through Friday, Oct. 22 for prospective master's, professional, and doctoral students considering graduate study at Berkeley. Whether students are just starting to think about graduate school, or are part way through their application, we encourage them to attend! At the fair, they'll learn more about UC Berkeley overall, our application process, have the opportunity to hear from current students about their application experience, and attend over 60 department information sessions in their area of interest.

Register for the Fair: https://whova.com/portal/registration/diver1_202110/

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Today was our October McNair and ROP Seminar with all of our cohorts. They are starting off the day with a “coffee time” networking session. The idea is to talk in an informal setting like one might do for a conference. A welcome change from last fall when everything was on Zoom!

Our first year scholars were joined by Dr. Stephanie McIver for a presentation reducing stress.

Our second and third year scholars were joined by a panel of McNair Alumni Stephanie Olivas (UNM McNair), Bree Partida-Castillo (Beloit College McNair), and Lacey Hites (Univ. Central Missouri McNair). They shared their experiences and gave tips about the application to graduate school process. I want to express our heartfelt gratitude for all our presenters and panel members today.

Apply for NCSU's graduate school visitation program from Nov. 28-30 here:https://grad.ncsu.edu/faculty-and-staff/recruiting-resources/visit-nc-state/

This webinar is being hosted by the people that run the NSF GRFP on Wed., Sept. 22, 2021 at 9:15 AM MDT on Zoom. If you are interested in learning tips on applying, you can register for the webinar by clicking the link below:
https://nsf.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_RIQGWvh5RwC_W9Vur7mpIQ

https://mailchi.mp/82c496485781/navigating-northwestern-graduate-program-fair-805128?e=777f2aa092

Follow the links below to learn about two upcoming (FREE!) opportunities to learn more about graduate school and research at Purdue Engineering!

1. Purdue Engineering Virtual Graduate Showcase - October 3-4, 2021.
Meet Purdue Engineering Graduate Programs and Faculty, and learn about both graduate research and summer undergraduate research programs at Purdue. Free, online, and interactive.

Register to access pre-event content
Present a research poster for cash prizes (optional) - best poster and people's choice
Attend event to receive an application fee waiver, in order to apply to Purdue Graduate Programs for FREE (good for up to two years)!
Registration Link:https://purdue.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0kdI2pxrKqUpOjI
Learn more from the Virtual Graduate Showcase website.

If you have questions, please reply to me or email any member of our team at [email protected]

2. Graduate Diversity Visitation Program (GDVP) - October 24-27, 2021.

Come on-campus to visit Purdue University Graduate Programs. This program encourages senior students from historically underrepresented backgrounds to apply. Application deadline is August 29, 2021. Check out the GDVP flyer with eligibility and more information.

Application Link:https://gradapply.purdue.edu/register/GDVP_app
Questions for GDVP can be emailed to [email protected] or call 765-494-0945.

Last but certainly not least, our final spotlight this summer falls on Jasmine Jackson of ABQ, NM! At UNM Jasmine is finishing her major in Chemical Engineering and her minor in Chemistry. This summer, Jasmine is working with her mentor, Dr. Christina Salas from the Department of Orthopedics, and entire lab team to study materials for 3D-printing bone scaffolds. Through this research Jasmine hopes to ask questions such as, "How can biomaterials be improved for human use?" and, "Why is 3D printing of bone scaffolds a better option for bone replacement?". Jasmine plans on applying to Ph.D. programs in Biomedical Engineering. Excellent work this summer Jasmine!! ✨

Today our spotlight shines on Thea Benally of Yahtahey, New Mexico! Thea is majoring in Exercise Science with minor in Population Health here at UNM. This summer she has been working with her mentor, Dr. Len Kravitz, professor and coordinator of Exercise Science, to examine the effects of stress on obesity. Through this research Thea hopes to ask questions such as, "How is stress linked to obesity?" and, "How does stress contribute to adverse health outcomes such as obesity and cardiovascular disease specifically in psychosocial and socioeconomic stressors?". Thea plans on applying to Ph.D. programs in Physical Therapy. Congratulations on finishing your summer research project Thea!!

This morning the spotlight is on Priscilla Magallanes from El Paso, Texas! Priscilla is at UNM majoring in Speech and Hearing Sciences and minoring in Psychology. This summer she has been working with her mentor, Dr. Cathy Binger of the department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, to re-examine the impact of having a balance of core vocabulary and fringe vocabulary in sentence structure. Through this research Priscilla hopes to ask questions such as, "What type of vocabulary do children typically use and how does this impact their communication?" and, "What proportion of utterances contain core vocabulary, fringe vocabulary, and a combination of both in typically developing children age 2 1/2 years?". Priscilla plans on applying to masters programs in Speech Language Pathology. Yay Priscilla!!!

Shout-out to Sofia Salbato! Sofia, an ABQ local and winner of the 2021 Goldwater scholarship, is majoring in Biology and minoring in Chemistry at UNM. This summer Sofia is working with her mentor, Dr. Jay Naik from the department of Cell Biology & Physiology, to research the role of endometrial cell membrane cholesterol content in diabetes-associated vascular dysfunction. Through this research Sofia hopes to ask questions such as, "How do cellular processes influence cardiovascular function?" and, "How does acid sensing ion channel (ASIC) 1a contribute to endothelium-dependent hydrogen sulfide induced vasodilation in systemic arteries?". Sofia plan on applying to Ph.D. programs in the Biomedical sciences. Fantastic work Sofia!

North Carolina State University’s Graduate School is committed to enhancing the diversity of its graduate programs. The Visit NC State Program is designed to offer prospective graduate students, and particularly those interested in the Ph.D., an opportunity to visit our campus, at no cost, to learn more about current research of our faculty and graduate students, and to experience the quality of our graduate programs. The next Visit NC State Program will be from November 28-30, 2021.

To be considered for a free trip to attend this event, interested students must submit all application materials by no later than October 4th, 2021.

https://grad.ncsu.edu/faculty-and-staff/recruiting-resources/visit-nc-state/

The spotlight is on Siyi Yu!! Siyi is originally from China and is at UNM studying Electrical Engineering and Applied Mathematics! This summer Siyi is working with her mentor, Dr. Sudharman K. Jayaweera of the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, to study deep learning-aided successive interference cancellation for MIMO (multiple input & multiple output) technology. Through this research Siyi hopes to ask questions such as "What is wide beam design in 3D beamforming with planar arrays for millimeter Wave communications?" and, "What is the most optimal weight matrix (amplitude and phase) to achieve the widest possible beam while also maintaining some form of uniformity in the array?". Siyi plans on applying to Ph.D. programs in Electrical Engineering. Excellent work this summer Siyi!