Research

EWU McNair Scholar Lucia Roussa Awarded CICOES Internship at UW

04/16/2021 by Jaeger, Corinne 2 Comments

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 Alumna Marixza Torres Awarded National Science Foundation Fellowship

04/08/2021 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

Congratulations to EWU McNair Alumna Marixza Torres! Marixza has been awarded a highly competitive and prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF GRF). The NSF GRF program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported STEM disciplines pursuing research-based masters and doctoral degrees at accredited US institutions. The five-year fellowship includes three years of significant financial support. Each year EWU McNair educates students on various scholarship and research opportunities and how to apply for them, including the NSF GRF. While it is rare that an undergraduate will receive one of these fellowships, it prepares our students for future applications, and they are provided feedback from NSF on how to strengthen the application submitted. Last year, Marixza was accorded an Honorable Mention in the 2020 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program competition for her research proposal's intellectual merit and potential broader impacts.

Marixza graduated from Eastern Washington University with a degree in Applied Developmental Psychology and a minor in Chicano studies. She completed two research internships as a McNair Scholar. For her 2018 EWU McNair Summer Research Internship, guided by her mentor Dr. Christina Torres Garcia, Marixza conducted research on the cultural obstacles faced by families of Latinx young adults with autism. In 2019, she was awarded and completed the Summer Research Opportunities Program at the University of Notre Dame under the mentorship of Dr. Dawn M. Gondoli. Through this internship, she examined the relationship between adolescent adjustment, dimensions of parenting, and work orientation. Marixza presented on her research at several conferences. In addition, during the 2019-20 academic year, Marixza worked with Dr. Theresa Martin analyzing the relationship between family communication in college and prosocial values exploring the influence of these on academic achievement. For her strong academic record and demonstration of outstanding leadership qualities at Eastern and in the community the College of Social Sciences awarded Marixza a Frances B Huston Medallion in 2020.

Last year, Marixza was accepted by the Master's of Social Work program at the University of Texas, Austin, the PhD program in Human Development and Family Services at the University of Missouri, and the Psychology PhD program at the University of California, Irvine, where she began attending in the Fall 2020 with full funding. In talking with EWU McNair in the fall, Marixza noted the impact of the program:

The program’s ability to empower marginalized students gave me the confidence to address my imposter syndrome and continue to build my skills to succeed. After developing research proposals and presenting my work to others, I saw how valuable my perspectives were to making significant contributions to the academic field in Latinx Psychology. With the support of TRiO’s McNair, I developed the expertise I needed to become a doctoral student at the University of California Irvine in the Department of Education and Human Development. This opportunity transformed my life and will allow me to address concerns impacting the Latinx community."

We are so proud of Marixza and all of our EWU McNair Scholars. Since Eastern’s TRIO McNair program was first funded in 1995, 39 EWU McNair Scholars have completed their PhD’s and over 117 have earned Master’s degrees. These amazing individuals are making history and valuable impacts on their communities including teaching future teachers, bringing to light hidden histories, improving health in rural areas, increasing equity and diversity in academia, strengthening mental health care for underserved communities, and supporting McNair programs at other institutions.

Faculty and staff, if you have students in your class who are interested in conducting research and attending graduate school, please send them to our website! Students, if you want to make a difference in your communities or learn more about the EWU McNair program, check out our website or check out this eligibility questionnaire!

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 Marixza Torres Accorded Honorable Mention from NSF

04/02/2020 by Jaeger, Corinne Leave a Comment

Photo of Marixza Torres next to blue gliitter and green backdrop with text congratulating her and National Science Foundation logo (globe with NSF across front)

Congratulations EWU McNair Scholar Marixza Torres! Marixza applied with thousands of other students for a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to support her research. She has been accorded an Honorable Mention in the 2020 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program competition for her research proposal’s intellectual merit and potential broader impacts. In her 2018 summer research internship with the EWU McNair Scholars Program, with the mentorship of Dr. Christina Torres García, Marixza studied the cultural obstacles faced by families of Latinx young adults with autism. Last summer she did research at the University of Notre Dame with mentor Dr. Dawn M. Gondoli, examining the relationship between adolescent adjustment, dimensions of parenting, and work orientation. To learn more about Marixza and her research, visit her page on our website.

We’re so excited for Marixza, who has been accepted at both a Masters program at University of Texas Austin and a PhD program at the University of Missouri. We know she’ll continue to do great research and contribute to the field of Psychology and beyond!