Mori Williams

EWU McNair Scholar Mori Williams Accepted to Toxicology PhD Program at Oregon State University

03/02/2021 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

Mori Williams Graduate School Acceptances 2021 OSU

Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Mori Williams! Mori has been accepted by the Toxicology PhD program at Oregon State University. Currently Mori is majoring in Environmental Science with an emphasis in Chemistry and a minor in Japanese. He has worked in an Organic Chemistry lab at Eastern Washington University university, which involves saponification, NMR readings, and reflux methods. For his 2020 EWU McNair Research Internship, he worked with Dr. Camille McNeely in researching cyanobacteria in local areas such as the Spokane River and the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge. Mori has presented his research to the Biology department and will present at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research later this year. Mori's research interests focus on finding types of toxins in bodies of water such as lakes, ponds, and the ocean to find solutions for reducing those toxins.

The EWU McNair staff are so excited for Mori. We know he'll do amazing things at whichever program he decides to attend! Click here to read more about Mori or his research.

EWU McNair Scholars Present their STEM Research and Experiences

02/02/2021 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

Despite COVID-19, EWU McNair Scholars have persisted through their virtual research internships during the summer of 2020 and now are presenting their research throughout the year. In addition to Ashley Destin and Rachael Pentico presenting at the Murdock College Science Research Conference in the Fall of 2020, three McNair Scholars have presented within their departments at EWU so far in 2021.

Darlene Gilroy, a second year EWU McNair Scholar, presented her research on, “Chemical Weathering of Deposits from the 1980 Mount St. Helens Eruption and its Effect on Stream Water Chemistry," to the Geology Department in early January. Darlene has been mentored by EWU McNair Faculty Mentor Dr. Carmen Nezat for two summers of research. Darlene is currently finishing her senior year at EWU as well as applying to multiple graduate schools across the country.

EWU McNair Scholar Mori Williams was recently featured in a video on the EWU Biology Department's website where he discusses his EWU McNair Summer research in detail. With the support of his EWU McNair Faculty Mentor, Dr. Camille McNeely, Mori took samples at the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge to determine concentrations of microcystins from cyanobacteria in wetlands. He is still compiling data and will present his findings this spring at the EWU Symposium. In the video, Mori also discusses his long term goals to become an environmental scientist with an emphasis in toxicology so he can focus on ways to reduce and remove toxins from our waters. Mori has applied to 7 PhD programs and 3 Masters programs and is currently applying for a fellowship.

Rachael was also featured in a video on the EWU Biology Department's website and shares great research opportunities where she shares examples of research within the department, including her EWU McNair research project under the mentorship of Dr. Rebecca Brown: Differences in Plant Soil Feedbacks with Respect to Slope Aspect. Rachael's findings in this project suggest that slope aspect influences plant-soil feedback. This insight can help with invasive species management in endangered ecosystems such as the Palouse Prairie Ecoregion. Rachael is now hard at work completing her graduate school applications to schools across the country!

We're so proud of all of our EWU McNair Scholars. It's been amazing to see how hard they've worked given all the challenges of the last year. We're excited to see where each of them goes next. Keep your eyes on the EWU McNair website and facebook page in the coming months to see as these fantastic scholars get accepted into graduate programs!

EWU McNair Scholar Mori Williams Completes Summer Research Internship

11/09/2020 by Tennyson, Bryn Leave a Comment

Congratulations EWU McNair Scholar Mori Williams for completing his EWU McNair Summer Research Internship! Mori conducted his research on nutrient concentrations of cyanotoxins at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge under the mentorship of Dr. Camille McNeely in the Department of Biology. He collected samples in the field and then analyzed these samples in the lab. Mori’s hope is to learn more about toxins and toxin flow in water to help prevent pollution and clean it out of our environment. Many thanks to Dr. McNeely for her outstanding mentorship. Read more about Mori’s research on his EWU McNair webpage!

Mori is now hard at work applying to graduate schools across the country with a specific interest in Environmental Toxicology. Keep up the exceptional work Mori! EWU McNair is confident that you will succeed in graduate school and have a great impact on our world.

Mori Williams selected as an EWU McNair Scholar and Awarded Summer Research Internship

06/25/2020 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

Mori Williams McNair Acceptance Announcements 2020

Congratulations Eastern Washington University student Mori Williams! Mori has been selected as an EWU McNair Scholar and awarded a summer research internship. McNair Scholars must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher and are first generation college students and low-income and/or underrepresented students. They are selected for their promise as scholars and commitment towards attaining a PhD.

Mori Williams is a senior majoring in Environmental Science with an emphasis in Chemistry. He is interested in studying the chemical aspects of water pollution and researching ways to remove or reduce toxins in water. Mori will complete a 2020 EWU McNair Summer Research Institute under the mentorship of Dr. Camille McNeely, Professor in the EWU Biology Department.

We’re so excited to have Mori join us at EWU McNair!