EWU Summer Research Internship

EWU McNair Scholar Marianna Fischer Selected for EWU’s Technology Commercialization Academy

11/10/2022 by Liina Koivula Leave a Comment

Congratulations to McNair Scholar Marianna Fischer! Marianna has been selected to participate in EWU’s Technology Commercialization Academy (TCA), through the E-Ship Center. TCA students grow a business idea from the ground up through the process of technology commercialization. For Kickoff Week, going on now, TCA students participate in an orientation, pitch their skills and ideas, and learn about professional networking, design, marketing, and funding and financing. They create teams to develop their businesses, bringing ideas from the research lab to the market. Thanks to a 3-year, $124,000 grant from the Herbert B. Jones Foundation Fellowship Grant, the TCA is able to offer $1,000 stipends to fellowship students who complete the program.

In addition to her acceptance into the TCA, Marianna was elected Vice President of EWU’s Student Chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and is a current member of the EWU Rocketry Club.

In her 2022 Summer Research Internship, Marianna Fischer researched trash incineration and combustion for energy recovery in the United States. Next summer, she plans to create a prototype for an incineration system that can be used in the home to generate electricity from everyday household trash. Her goal is to become an expert in small scale energy generation that is better for the environment and can be used off the grid, in space, and other novel uses.

EWU McNair Scholar Devin Mumey Attends Lichen Workshop in West Virginia

11/03/2022 by Liina Koivula Leave a Comment

EWU McNair Scholar Devin Mumey collected and identified lichen species with mentor Dr. Jessica Allen for his summer research internship. He recently had the opportunity to travel with Dr. Allen and a group of students to the Tuckerman Lichen Workshop, an annual field course for scholars and enthusiasts, held this year in a remote redoubt of Appalachia, thanks to Dr. Allen’s National Science Foundation (NSF) award. Their work has been featured on the front page of InsideEWU. Read more here > EWU Students Travel for Lichen Workshop in West Virginia.

EWU McNair Scholar Devin Mumey Selected for Scholarship

08/04/2022 by Liina Koivula Leave a Comment

Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Devin Mumey! Devin has been selected to receive the Susan and Richard Stannard Scholarship.

Devin Mumey is working towards a major in Biology with a focus on Plant Sciences and a minor in Chemistry. He is interested in studying hybrid fruits and crossbreeding, as well as disease resistance. For his McNair Summer Research Internship, he is working with mentor Dr. Jessica Allen collecting and identifying lichen species. Future research interests include blueberry scorch disease and blackberry orange rust, as well as creating cold-hardy cultivars of tropical fruits, and the tissue culture and propagation of rare or endangered plants.

EWU McNair Scholar Arcelia Madrigal Selected for the Soaring Eagles Scholarship

07/28/2022 by Liina Koivula Leave a Comment

Congratulations to new EWU McNair Scholar Arcelia Madrigal! Arcelia has been selected for the Soaring Eagles Scholarship. The Soaring Eagles Scholarship offers

Financial support for EWU junior and senior level students demonstrating “grit” toward degree completion.

Scholarships at Eastern are highly competitive and Arcelia has been recognized as an individual who has demonstrated excellence.

Arcelia is a first-generation college student majoring in Psychology with a minor in Special Education and earning a certificate in Social Emotional Learning for Educational Equity. Arcelia is the Vice President of Eastern Washington’s Psi Chi chapter and an active member of Eagle Ambassadors. She is interested in a career in early education school psychology to help ensure educational equity for all students. Her research interests consist of how stereotype bias and cultural identity play into achievement test results and how they present in the educational setting. Arcelia’s research this summer will be on Cultural Experience and Perception of Social Emotional Learning with mentor Dr. Susan Ruby.

EWU McNair Scholar Richard Murphy Selected for Two Scholarships

07/27/2022 by Liina Koivula Leave a Comment

Congratulations to new EWU McNair Scholar Richard Murphy! Richard has been selected to receive the Benjamin P. Cheney Scholarship.

This scholarship is for a top achieving male senior at EWU.

Additionally, Richard received the Biella Foundation Scholarship, to assist students with childcare costs.

Richard is an undergraduate student with declared majors in Philosophy, Political Science, and International Affairs with an emphasis on Global Socio-Economic Development and a minor in Spanish. Richard serves as Vice President of both the Philosophy Club and the International Affairs Community at EWU, advocating for interdisciplinary approaches to our most sophisticated and pressing issues of the 21st Century. As a student ambassador with the People-to-People program, Richard experienced first-hand how traveling to other countries can diversify one’s exposure, and has translated that into his studies in International Affairs. Under the mentorship of Professor Tom Hawley, PhD, Richard plans to focus his 2022 McNair summer research project on the phenomena of societal internalization of Neoliberalism, and the consequences of establishing competitive markets in historically non-marketed realms of our lives.

Katie Gower Selected as an EWU McNair Scholar and Awarded Summer Research Internship

07/15/2022 by Liina Koivula Leave a Comment

Congratulations to new McNair Scholar Katie Gower! Katie was selected by the McNair Scholars’ selection committee on the basis of her passion for research, commitment to attaining a PhD, and overall potential for success in graduate school.

The federally-funded TRIO Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program at EWU selects motivated and talented juniors and seniors who are first-generation and low-income college students, and/or from groups underrepresented at the doctoral level to introduce them to academic research and provide them with effective strategies for getting into and graduating from PhD programs.

Katie Gower is a first-generation, Honors undergraduate student at Eastern Washington University. Born and raised in Spokane, she graduated from Spokane Falls Community College with a transfer Associate of Arts Degree in 2020. She is majoring in Political Science and minoring in Philosophy and Sociology. Her research interests range from political theory to domestic public policy concerning climate change, immigration, and homelessness. She has also demonstrated interest and conducted research regarding intersectional feminism and transformative justice. She is interested in local politics and public policy and has completed an extensive research project on Washington state climate change legislation titled An Analysis of Initiative 1631 and the Future of Carbon Fee Legislation in Washington State. She will complete her Summer Research Internship with mentor Dr. Matthew Anderson.

We look forward to accompanying Katie as her research unfolds!