NASA Grants and Scholarships awarded to SOE and CAS Faculty and Students
ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ÊÓƵÎÞÏÞÖƹۿ´ students and faculty from the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) and the School of Engineering (SOE) were awarded over $30,000 in grants and scholarships at the 2016 NASA Connecticut Space Grant Consortium (CTSGC).
Jillian Smith-Carpenter, PhD, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the CAS, won the Faculty Research Award. The goal of the Faculty Research grant is to support research that ties into at least one of NASA core missions (Space science, Mission to Planet Earth, Human Exploration and Development of Space, Space Technology and Aeronautics), have potential for innovations, publications or future funding and that students play a significant role in the project. The grant for Dr. Smith-Carpenter will be used, in part, for a stipend for an 8-week research experience in her research lab for one undergraduate student.
Amanda Harper-Leatherman, PhD, Associate Professor of Chemistry in the CAS, was awarded the NASA Faculty Travel Grant, which helped support attendance and presentation of the scientific findings from her summer research conducted with two University undergraduate students at the Southeast Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society. Such important mentoring and professional development opportunities are in line with NASA’s objective to advance the nation’s STEM education and workforce pipeline.
Two University students from the SOE were given project grants. Christopher Gutierrez ‘17 received one for his project which focused on creating a device that would have various medical applications, such as testing medicine or drugs on the different types of tissues or organs, and Julia McManus ’17 received a grant to continue to redesign the power transfer in microchip manufacturing equipment. Nina Kosciuszek ‘17, a Chemistry major in the CAS, who assisted Dr. Harper-Leatherman in her research project, also received a grant. Earlier this semester, four students from the SOE were each awarded $5,000 scholarships for their excellent academic performances — Michael Wright ’17, Ravina Hingorani ’17, Samuel Nguyen ’19, and Sarah Kurtz ’19.
