TRIO Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program

Eastern Washington University

Environmental Science

Seth McCullough Selected as an EWU McNair Scholar and Awarded Summer Research Internship

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Seth McCullough McNair Scholar Announcements 2021 (1)

Congratulations Eastern Washington University student Seth McCullough! Seth 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, are first generation college students and low-income and/or underrepresented students, and are selected for their promise as scholars and commitment to attaining a PhD. Seth is majoring in Biology with an emphasis in Environmental Science. His interests and research focuses are on restoration ecology and how climate change is affecting relationships within ecological communities. Seth is currently a research assistant in his mentor, Dr. Justin Bastow’s lab working on EWU’s prairie restoration project. For his EWU McNair Summer Research Internship, Seth will expand on the project and investigate how prairie restoration and biochar amenities affect carbon sequestration within the soil. 

 

We're so excited to have Seth join us as a McNair Scholar!

EWU McNair Scholar Lucia Roussa Awarded CICOES Internship at UW

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Lucia Roussa Summer Research Acceptance 2021

Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Lucia Roussa! Lucia has been selected as one of 14 interns through the Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Sciences (CICOES). For over 40 years CICOES has fostered research collaboration between UW and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). CICOES’s research is a leader in investigations of climate change, ocean acidification, fisheries assessments, and tsunami forecasting. Interns are matched with a research project within one of CICOES nine research themes and work with a CICOES, NOAA, or University of Washington scientist. Lucia has been paired with mentor Dr. Julie Keister, a professor of biological oceanography at the University of Washington. She will work on the project: "Assessing the impact of jellyfish on Puget Sound: determining jellyfish biomass from the air." She will help quantify the size of jellyfish aggregations from aerial photos using computerized image-processing procedures. The goal is to determine seasonal and annual changes in aggregations, and to help the Washington State Department of Ecology determine whether the aerial surveys can provide a “jellyfish index” as an annual indicator of the health of Puget Sound.

Lucia is finishing a dual Environmental Science and Biology major at Eastern Washington University. In 2020, she was selected for the TLES Scholars Award. She works with Dr. Camille McNeely on her project investigating the relationship between freshwater algal abundance and diversity through analyzing the eutrophication of wetlands in Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge. This week Lucia presented her work at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research. Lucia's research interests include phycology, marine microbiology, and conservation science in coastal marine ecosystems. In future projects, she would like to explore the various roles that algae play in our world and potential solutions to environmental problems related to algae. Her goal is to obtain a PhD and be a role model for those who feel like STEM fields are limited to those with economic privilege, or those who feel insecure entering a male-dominated field.

 

Due to the pandemic, Lucia will be completing her internship remotely, with the hope of an end of summer in person conference for the final week of the program if it is safe to do so. In addition to research, Lucia will have the opportunity to attend weekly seminars from special guests on climate change, research in the field, and research skills. Similar to our EWU McNair Summer Research Internship, at the end of her internship, Lucia will create research poster displaying the results of the work and create a three-minute video summarizing the experience. Be sure to check back on the EWU McNair website in the fall to find a link to the video!

 

The EWU McNair staff are so excited for Lucia.

EWU McNair Scholar Rachael Pentico Accepted by Fourth Graduate Program

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Rachael Pentico Graduate School Acceptances 2021 WSU

Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Rachael Pentico! Rachael has been accepted by the Environmental and Natural Resources Sciences PhD program at Washington State University, Vancouver with full funding. She has also been accepted by Purdue University with full funding, Syracuse University, and by the University of Idaho.

 

Rachael is majoring in Biology at Eastern Washington University. Her research focuses on ecology and how invasive species and anthropogenic climate change will affect different ecosystems. She is a research assistant in Dr. Rebecca Brown's lab where they are focused on restoring a section of the Palouse Prairie. For her 2020 EWU McNair Summer Research Internship, with the continued mentorship of Dr. Rebecca Brown, Rachael completed her study Differences in Plant Soil Feedbacks with Respect to Slope Aspect and has presented her research at the EWU Symposium, the Baylor McNair Research Conference, and the Murdock College Science Research Conference. Click here to see a poster of Rachael's initial research on plant soil feedbacks in the Spring of 2020. Rachael plans to attain her PhD and become a professor where she can mentor students.

 

The EWU McNair staff are so excited for Rachael and we know she'll do amazing things at whichever program she decides to attend! Click here to read more about Rachael and her research.

EWU McNair Scholar Rachael Pentico Accepted by Purdue PhD Program

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Rachael Pentico Graduate School Acceptances 2021 PU

Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Rachael Pentico! Rachael has been accepted by the Biological Sciences PhD program at Purdue University with full funding. In addition, Rachael has two prior acceptances, one from Syracuse University's (SUNY) College of Environmental Science and Forestry for a PhD in Ecosystems: Land, Water, and Air, the other by the University of Idaho in their Masters of Natural Resources Program.

 

Rachael is majoring in Biology at Eastern Washington University. Her interests and research focus on ecology and how invasive species and anthropogenic climate change will affect different ecosystems. She is a research assistant in Dr. Rebecca Brown's lab where they are focused on restoring a section of the Palouse Prairie. For her 2020 EWU McNair Summer Research Internship, with the continued mentorship of Dr. Rebecca Brown, Rachael completed her study Differences in Plant Soil Feedbacks with Respect to Slope Aspect and has presented her research at the EWU Symposium, the Baylor McNair Research Conference, and the Murdock College Science Research Conference. Rachael plans to attain her PhD and become a professor where she can mentor students.

 

The EWU McNair staff are so excited for Rachael and we know she'll do amazing things at whichever program she decides to attend! Click here to read more about Rachael or her research.

EWU McNair Scholar Rachael Pentico Accepted to SUNY PhD Program

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Rachael Pentico Graduate School Acceptances 2021 SY

Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Rachael Pentico! Rachael has been accepted by Syracuse University's (SUNY) College of Environmental Science and Forestry for a PhD in Ecosystems: Land, Water, and Air. Rachael has also been accepted by the University of Idaho in their Masters of Natural Resources Program.

 

Rachael is majoring in Biology at Eastern Washington University. Her interests and research focus on ecology and how invasive species and anthropogenic climate change will affect different ecosystems. She is a research assistant in Dr. Rebecca Brown's lab where they are focused on restoring a section of the Palouse Prairie. For her 2020 EWU McNair Summer Research Internship, with the continued mentorship of Dr. Rebecca Brown, Rachael completed her study Differences in Plant Soil Feedbacks with Respect to Slope Aspect and has presented her research at the EWU Symposium, the Baylor McNair Research Conference, and the Murdock College Science Research Conference. Rachael plans to attain her PhD and become a professor where she can mentor students.

 

The EWU McNair staff are so excited for Rachael and we know she'll do amazing things at whichever program she decides to attend! Click here to read more about Rachael or her research.

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

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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.