Since founded in 2006, The Women In Science Giving Circle members and donors have pooled their money to enhance the educational and professional advancement of women in Science, Technbology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine (STEMM) disciplines at Wright State University.
On April 18, 2016 the WISGC hosted a reception to announce the 2016 award recipients. We are very proud to add these exemplary women to our distinguished list of scholarship and grant recipients and to feature some of their interests and accomplishments.
2016 Scholarship Recipients:
Maria Dodd is a senior majoring in psychology and a concentraton in Behavioral Neuroscience. She is a commuter student who commutes 2 hours each day to Wright State. She enjoys participating in clubs on campus and is a member of the CoSM Dean's Circle. She also serves as an appraiser in Destination Imagination to foster innovative thinking and teamwork skills in young people. She has undertaken the pre-med curriculum. According to Dragana Claflin, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Psychology, Maria is very dedicated to her research lab and the field of neuroscience, and medicine. She is part of a core undergraduate research team to whom Claflin entrusts her lab as if they were graduate students. The WISGC scholarship will give her needed financial support to work less and enable her to spend more time in the research lab. Maria is positioned for success.
Molly Donovan is a rising sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering. After graduation she plans to research clean and renewable energy. She wants to make the energy we use more sustainable, safe and affordable for everyone. She is an active member of the Society of Women in Engineering (SWE), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the S-STEM Scholarship Club and Catholic Campus Ministries. Molly volunteers every other Saturday at her church food pantry, assists with Sunday School classes when needed and has participated in two mission trips. These activites are an example of her excellent character. She has an ambitious plan to graduate a year early and to pursue the 4+1 program through the College of Engineering and Computer Science at Wright State. Dennis Hance, Lecturer in the Mechanical Engineering Program, Lake Campus, shared that Molly's stellar performance was indicative of her excellent technical potential and abilities. The WISGC scholarship will help her pay for some of her educational and living expenses.
Kaylee Eakins is a senior planning on taking graduate classes. In her application she wrote about the challenges her family has faced. Her family means the world to her and she strives to make them proud by following her dreams of attaining an education. Wright State has presented her with a number of opportunities. Her choice to persue Biomedical Engineering turned out to be a perfect fit for her. She recognized that STEMM fields are rigorous, but the harder she worked the better she did. Kaylee stated "it doesn't matter where I came from, what my last name is, or what natural talents I have. If I put my mind and heart into my studies, there is nothing else stopping me from being the best I can be." And nothing is stopping Kaylee. She is currently enrolled in the 4+1 program in the College of Engineering and Computer Science and currently enrolled in a graduate class. In a letter of support from assistant professor Mary Fendley, Ph.D., in the departmemt of Biomedical Industrual & Human Factors Engineering program, she highlights Kaylee's exemplary record, and motivation to succeed which makes her a perfect candidate for the WISGC scholarship.
Maria Dodd, Molly Donovan, and Kaylee Eakins were each awarded a $1,500 WISGC scholarship. The scholarships are possible due to the generous support of our donors.
2016 Grant Recipients:
Courtney Sulentic, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology.
Sulentic's research interests are in the area of immunotoxicology involving understanding, at the molecular level, the impact on B cell function of various chemicals from environmental, industrial, dietary and pharmaceutical origin. B cells are an important effector cell in maintaining immunity against a wide variety of pathogens. B cells produce and secrete antibodies which have the ability to recognize specific foreign molecules and lead to their removal from the body. B cells and antibodies therefore play an important role in host protection.
(Pictured left to right, Adrian Corbett, Ph.D., past grant recipient and WISGC member, Courtney Sulentic, Ph.D., and Rebecca Teed, Ph.D., 2016 recipients)
Rebecca Teed, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Earth & Environmental Science.
Teed's major research interest is paleoecology, the study of the relationships among organisms and between organisms and their environment in Earth's past, and teaching geology and earth system science to teachers. Fossil diatoms, pollen, and charcoal are buried and preserved in lake sediment every year, and this has been going on for since the latest ice age in many lakes. Teed analyzes past vegetation changes, and the response of vegetation at the prairie-forest border to climate and to fire frequency. Diatom (algae) remains are often preserved in the same sediment, and these provide an excellent record of changes in lake chemistry.
Grant application eligibility is limited to women faculty who are in or beyond their third year at WSU who can demonstrate how the award will advance the research and career of the applicant. Congratulations to Drs. Sulentic and Teed for being awarded a 2016 WISGC Grant.
You can make a difference in the professional lives of women like this year's awardees by donating today. Thank you.
