Research

Research Excellence Spotlight - Srinjita Bhaduri

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Sep 2021 21:52:17 +0000

Research Excellence Spotlight - Srinjita Bhaduri Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 09/03/2021 - 15:52

Srinjita Bhaduri recently graduated with a PhD Computer Science and Cognitive Science. Her research focuses on underrepresented children's interactions with emerging technologies and how to create rich learning experiences for them. Srinjita was recently awarded a Research Excellence Award based on her accomplishments and contributions to the research community. We asked Srinjita a few questions to learn more about her as a researcher and get to know her better. Read more below!

What advice do you have for someone who is interested in starting research?

Do not hesitate to ask questions, all questions are good. Also, network with people and share your research with others who are not in your field. It helps frame your research even better when to try to explain to someone outside your field.

Describe an "a-ha!" moment you had while doing research.

It was when writing my thesis, the amount of reflection that went into writing it was crazy. That is when I realized all the things I have been wanting to do so far and being able to tie everything back together.

What is a useful research skill you think everyone should have?

Communication is key and being up-to-date with current research. Also, something I highly recommend is journaling or reflecting on your work. These reflections can become part of your dissertation as well!

Why is your research important to the community or world at large?

I have over six years of experience working at the intersection of Child-Computer Interaction, Maker Technologies, and Learning Sciences (LS). I aim to promote techniques from the LS to better integrate maker technologies in a manner that is relevant to students in both formal and informal K-12 educational settings. For my dissertation, I am creating and implementing a toolkit that integrates rich learning experiences for students around 3D printing. In my work, I worked with students from rural areas who worked towards creating 3D printed prosthetics for animals with disabilities. Participating students receive an opportunity to become aware of culturally relevant local job opportunities that involve maker technologies. I strive to provide young learners opportunities to realize the purpose of engaging with maker technologies by making them personally relevant to students. Through this, I hope educators begin conservation about the need to change STEM education's nature in understanding maker technologies.

What is a good book you have read recently and why did you enjoy it?

I read the book "Air & Light & Time & Space" by Helen Sword. This book really helped me focus during my dissertation writing. It made me feel that there are other academics out there who also come across similar challenges when writing. The book has great suggestions for adopting daily writing routines and I highly recommend this book to any academic.

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Research Excellence Spotlight - Anthony Pinter

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Sep 2021 21:43:20 +0000

Research Excellence Spotlight - Anthony Pinter Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 09/03/2021 - 15:43

Anthony Pinter is a fifth year PhD student studying Information Science. His research focuses on how online identity changes in response to life transitions and how data representations of our lived experiences in socio-technical systems like social media are imperfect; he specifically studies how people handle the end of a romantic relationship and its translation into online spaces. Anthony was recently awarded a Research Excellence Award based on his accomplishments and contributions to the research community. We asked Anthony a few questions to learn more about him as a researcher and get to know him better. Read more below!

Describe an "a-ha!" moment you had while doing research.

I started my PhD in a totally different topic area -- thinking about trans and non-binary identities in online spaces. I switched focuses to relationship break-ups towards the middle of my third year, after realizing that I wasn't the right person to do trans/non-binary work, but I was definitely the right person to do work about break-ups. This was my a-ha moment... realizing that I should be doing something slightly different!

What is a useful research skill you think everyone should have?

Be able to work with groups of varying sizes, in varying roles. Regardless of your discipline, you're going to have to work alone -- after all, you have to write a dissertation! But being able to work with others, and take different roles depending on the group/project, is such an invaluable skill to have. While I love my dissertation work and love working 1:1 with my advisor, I've had really formative experiences working in big groups of researchers and I think that's something everyone should have at least some experience with.

Why is your research important to the community or world at large?

Social media is relatively new, but is certainly not going anywhere, anytime soon. As long as we have social media, we'll have our lived experiences translated into data that can be used to make recommendations. My work ultimately contributes to creating better algorithmic systems that are more attuned to the human experience, giving us less "unexpected" or "upsetting" suggestions that might be problematic during a life transition.

Tell us a fun fact about you that is not related to your research or academics.

I competitively race in cross-country mountain bike races -- this summer I'm riding the Leadville 100 MTB!

What is a good book you have read recently and why did you enjoy it?

A song I reference in my dissertation has a reference to Neil Gaiman's "Neverwhere", so I snagged a copy and read it through in nearly one sitting. It was just a really easy, fun fantasy read! I was disappointed to find he hadn't written more using those characters and that world.

If you could have dinner with anyone (living or dead), who would it be and why?

Kurt Vonnegut. I think he would have such an interesting perspective on the last 20 years of American history, given what he thought and wrote about regarding the mid- to late 20th century.

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Research Excellence Spotlight - Todd Whittaker

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Sep 2021 21:35:19 +0000

Research Excellence Spotlight - Todd Whittaker Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 09/03/2021 - 15:35

Todd Whittaker is a second year PhD student studying Chemical Engineering. His research focuses on electrochemical methods for solving global energy and chemical demands such as CO2 reduction, biomass upgrading and fuel cells. Todd was recently awarded a Research Excellence Award based on his accomplishments and contributions to the research community. We asked Todd a few questions to learn more about him as a researcher and get to know him better. Read more below!

What advice do you have for someone who is interested in starting research?

I would encourage anyone who is interested in research to become comfortable with two very uncomfortable things: not always knowing what to do and failing often. Research often feels like a marathon, and the most successful researchers I know typically try lots of things, knowing that a good fraction of them won't work out. Rarely does research ever proceed linearly, where a researcher has an idea, develops a hypothesis, tests it and comes up with awesome results. In my experience, some of my best work has come out of ideas that spectacularly failed and I have sought to understand why. These "failures" are what makes research interesting!

Describe an "a-ha!" moment you had while doing research.

I was working with a labmate to develop a procedure to separate two compounds from my reactant mixture that were particularly difficult to separate. We had already tried many different things but he suggested another idea that I hadn't thought of and it worked! This "a-ha" moment is probably one of the more valuable lessons in research - your colleagues are a fantastic resource for problem solving.

What is a useful research skill you think everyone should have?

The ability to challenge your own biases and critically evaluate why you think a certain way is something everyone, not just those in research as a career, should have. In research and in everyday life, we go in to situations already believing a certain thing to be true. When we are presented evidence that would suggest otherwise, we need to be comfortable accepting we may have been wrong. Resistance to new information is natural (no one likes being wrong), but it can end up costing more time to stubbornly insist on being correct than it is to try to evaluate the new information and incorporate it into your thought system.

Why is your research important to the community or world at large?

Electrochemistry has many different applications for combating climate change, we have already seen the impacts it can have in batteries for energy storage and transportation purposes. My research is focused on developing electrochemical processes for decarbonizing the chemical sector. If we can make more sustainable chemicals using renewable carbon like biomass or even exhaust CO2, and renewable electricity, we could significantly shift the needle towards a more sustainable future.

Tell us a fun fact about you that is not related to your research or academics.

Before I became involved in research, I was determined to became a professional soccer player. In fact, the only reason I moved to the US in the first place (I'm originally from Australia) was because I couldn't get a visa to stay in the UK to play soccer! I played all four years as a goalkeeper for Trinity University and became an Academic All-American in my senior year, which was a very proud moment because it represented the dedication I had to both my athletic and academic interests.

What is a good book you have read recently and why did you enjoy it?

I don't read for leisure nearly as much as I'd like to, but I recently read "Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?" by Dutch ethologist Frans De Waal. Its a short but fascinating read about how understanding of animal intelligence has been largely limited by our ability to design good ways to measure it. The quote "if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid" came to mind while reading this, which really opened my eyes about flaws in not only studies of animal intelligence but also in human education. Thoroughly recommend.

If you could have dinner with anyone (living or dead), who would it be and why?

There are so many to choose from, but I think I'd have to choose James Hetfield. I'm a Metallica superfan, and I think it would super fun to just chat with him about life. But there are so many interesting people out there, I could choose probably hundreds more.

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Research Excellence Spotlight - Dillon McGovern

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 18:15:43 +0000

Research Excellence Spotlight - Dillon McGovern Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 09/01/2021 - 12:15

Dillon McGovern is a fourth year PhD student studying Behavioral Neuroscience. His research focuses on reward neurochemistry and signaling and how stress or drugs of abuse can alter this neuronal activity. Dillon was recently awarded a Research Excellence Award based on his accomplishments and contributions to the research community. We asked Dillon a few questions to learn more about him as a researcher and get to know him better. Read more below!

What advice do you have for someone who is interested in starting research?

Find a topic that you are genuinely curious about even if it extends beyond your major. If you love going to the lab and the experiments that you are running you are much less likely to be discouraged when projects inevitably don't work out as planned.

What is a useful research skill you think everyone should have?

It is important to be detail oriented as a researcher but also equally as important to be flexible. Lots of unexpected problems arise with any new experiment so being able to adapt accordingly and not be too hard on yourself if something doesn't work out perfectly is important.

Why is your research important to the community or world at large?

The majority of the work that I have done focuses on how stress and drugs of abuse can alter neuronal activity and contribute to either stress deficits or heightened drug seeking. This work provides foundational insights into distinct brain regions and circuits that may be clinically efficacious targets for stress or drug related therapies in the future.

What is a good book you have read recently and why did you enjoy it?

I recently read the Stormlight Archive series by Brandon Sanderson and I loved it because he creates a fully immersive world that is unlike any other epic fantasy series I have read.

If you could have dinner with anyone (living or dead), who would it be and why?

I would want to have dinner with Lady Gaga. In addition to being a music icon she is also an entrepreneur, actor, artist, philanthropist and fierce advocate for the LGBTQ+ community.

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Research Excellence Spotlight - Pamela Romero Villela

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 16:50:00 +0000

Research Excellence Spotlight - Pamela Romero Villela Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 09/01/2021 - 10:50

Pamela Romero Villela is a third year PhD student studying Behavioral, Psychiatric, and Statistical Genetics. Her research focuses on the genetics of substance abuse, particularly in underprivileged populations, and how this genetic liability interacts with socio-economic factors to influence substance use behaviors. Pamela was recently awarded a Research Excellence Award based on her accomplishments and contributions to the research community. We asked Pamela a few questions to learn more about her as a researcher and get to know her better. Read more below!

What advice do you have for someone who is interested in starting research?

Don't be afraid to introduce yourself to others! Surround yourself with a multitude of mentors and peers doing other forms of research. Each person will teach you a different way of looking at your research or the same problem, which will enable you to understand the problem from multiple disciplines and perspectives and therefore ask the most interesting or pressing questions.

What is a useful research skill you think everyone should have?

The ability and courage to ask questions about what you are doing and how it fits in with the big picture.

Why is your research important to the community or world at large?

98% of genetic studies to date have been in individuals of European descent. This lack of diversity leads to pharmaco-interventions not working as well or replicating in other populations and exacerbating health disparities caused by socio-economic factors. My research matters because understanding the common and unique genetic liabilities other communities have to addiction will lead to better medications and treatments for underrepresented individuals suffering from drug addiction.

Tell us a fun fact about you that is not related to your research or academics.

I love painting, listening to live jazz, and anime.

What is a good book you have read recently and why did you enjoy it?

The Color of Law - I was taken aback by how much I didn't know about systematic racism and how embedded it was in the US government.

If you could have dinner with anyone (living or dead), who would it be and why?

Leonardo da Vinci. I would ask him: how the heck were you so good at so many different things?!

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2021 Graduate Excellence Award Winners

Anonymous — Thu, 06 May 2021 21:09:18 +0000

2021 Graduate Excellence Award Winners Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 05/06/2021 - 15:09

We are pleased to announce the winners of this year's Graduate Excellence Awards! These awards were chosen from a competitive set of applications. We offer awards for teaching and research excellence each year to highlight the inspiring students that make up our campus community. Click on the links below to learn more about each outstanding student's dedication and accomplishments.

Teaching Excellence

Matthew Hartsock, Psychology and Neuroscience
Paige Massey, Philosophy
Emily Loker, Communication
Tiffany Beebe, History
María Ruíz-Martínez, Education
Niki Konstantinides, Integrative Physiology
Elizabeth Embry, Leeds Business
Kellie Brownlee, Communication
Jone Brunelle, Communication
Mckenzie Dice, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
Sandra Ortiz-València, Spanish and Portuguese

Research Excellence

Anthony Pinter, Information Science
Todd Whittaker, Chemical and Biological Engineering
Pamela Romero Villela, Psychology and Neuroscience
Mohammad Bashar, Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering
Dillon McGovern, Psychology and Neuroscience
Srinjita Bhaduri, Computer Science
Eduardo Montes Romero, Spanish and Portuguese

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Graduate Excellence Award Winners

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Jun 2020 22:09:22 +0000

Graduate Excellence Award Winners Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 06/18/2020 - 16:09

Teaching Excellence

Kate Hinshaw
Edu Montes Romero
Dustin Cook
Emily Nocito
Brendan Connell
Hillary Steinberg
Rachel Havranek
Sarah Schoonraad
Anthony Pinter
Kevin Mason
Jeremiah Osborne-Gowery
Urooj Raja
Josette Lorig
Bertha Bermudez Tapia
Laura Malaver
Arpan Das
Vincent Russell

Research Excellence

Xiaolei Huang
Christine Foxx
Emily Irvin
Caitrin Scarlett Engle

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