Summer 2011 Brings Myriad Opportunities for Academy Students Across Kentucky, the US, and Globe

Students at Western Kentucky University’s Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science find their academic year is often very different from that of traditional high school students.  A full slate of college coursework, living away from home, and a host of research and non-traditional learning experiences fill the month of September to May.  Perhaps even more unique, though, are the exploits of Academy students during the summer months in Kentucky and at locations across the globe.

Three out of five of the current Academy students and recent alumni have current plans to participate in an academic or career exploration during the months of June, July, and August that will take place across the world.  More impressively, 85% of rising seniors are participating in a summer experience. Derick Strode, the Academy’s coordinator for research, internships, and scholarships expressed both the geography and educational experiences of these students will be wide-ranging.

“These summer experiences represent the broad scope of STEM interests that our students enjoy,” Strode said.  “Gatton Academy students are performing research this summer in medical, chemical, national security, and computer science settings—just to name a few—that will shed positive effects on human lives in the not-so-distant future.”

A new emphasis of the summer learning experience, is a study abroad component.  For the first time, seventeen Gatton Academy students will travel to the United Kingdom for an Honors English 200 course.  The Introduction to Literature course, based at Harlaxton College in Grantham, will be taught by Dr. Alison Langdon of the WKU Department of English.  The experiences do not stop there.  Eight Gatton Academy students will participate in the Chinese Bridge Summer Camp sponsored by the Confucius Institute at WKU, Hanban, and the North China Electric Power University.  This two week camp will give the following students a chance to visit China, learning the language and culture along the way:

“I am also happy to note the increase in Gatton Academy students learning abroad this summer,” Strode added. “Gatton Academy students will be on four continents for educational programs over these next few months.”

While some high school students may consider research, internships, or study abroad programs less preferable than time at the beach, Gatton Academy students see these opportunities as a way to build on their learning and interests.

“Flexibly structured so that students can remain learning over summer while exploring career and educational interests, our internship program offers options for the motivated Gatton Academy student body.  We have students who have chosen to pursue advanced research or shadowing work in STEM fields of their interest right in their own backyards across the Commonwealth this summer.  Other students are further investigating their interests across the United States and the globe,” Strode said.

Keep checking back with the Gatton Academy website this summer as we further spotlight these students explorations and adventures.

For more information, contact Derick Strode at (270) 745-6565.

Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs):

Three Gatton Academy students will be participating in the REU titled Mammoth Cave/Upper Green River Watershed Project at Western Kentucky University.  REUs are funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and offer students full-summer research opportunity with travel, food, and lodging provided as well as a generous stipend.  REUs are one of the most prestigious and selective of summertime opportunities.

• Logan Eckler (’12) of Covington (Mentor: Dr. Matthew Nee)
• Brandon Farmer (’12) of Lexington (Mentor: Dr. Matthew Nee)
• Natalie Schieber (’11) of Elizabethtown (Mentor: Dr. Bangbo Yan)

International Research Experiences for Scientists:

Two students have been selected to participate in an NSF International Research Experiences for Scientists program at the National Chung Hsing University in Taichung, Taiwan.  This program, on the same level as an REU, offers students fully paid travel to Taiwan, food, lodging, and a stipend.

• Michael Crocker (’12) of Bowling Green (Mentors: Dr. Ru-Jong Jeng and Dr. Rong-Ho Lee)
• Ellis Shelley  (’12) of Albany (Mentor: Shing-Yi Suen)

Crocker will be studying dendrimer synthesis and immobilization onto a silica or membrane support and dendrimer membrane on ITO glass.  Shelley will be studying protein purification by IMAM.

Research Science Institute (RSI) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Lukas Missik (’12) of Danville is one of only 80 rising high school seniors from across the globe to be admitted to this prestigious, cost-free high school STEM program to conduct research at MIT for six weeks.  Lukas will be conducting research in Artificial Intelligence or Game Theory.

Undergraduate Research Program in Molecular Biology at Princeton University

Sarah Schrader (’11) of Bowling Green has been admitted from a nationwide pool into the Undergraduate Research Program in Molecular Biology at Princeton University.  In this nine week program, Schrader will be studying in Molecular and Quantitative & Computational Biology.  Travel, housing, and a generous stipend are provided.

EarthWatch Student Challenge Awards Program:

Erin Walch (’12) of Alexandria has been accepted into the prestigious EarthWatch Institute’s Student Challenge Awards Program.  She will be a part of a research team traveling to the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains in Riverside California to study Plant Life of California’s Mountains for two and a half weeks.  Walch’s award includes full travel expenses, food, and lodging for her trip to California.

Kentucky Professional Education Preparation Program (PEPP)

Three Gatton Academy students will participate this summer in the Commonwealth’s PEPP programs.  Lori Lovell (’12) of Florence and Erin Walch (’12) of Alexandria have been admitted to the Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine’s PEPP program.  Shelby Martin (’11) of Mt. Washington has been admitted to the University of Kentucky’s PEPP Step II.  These residential programs offer a variety of educational experiences targeted to enhance students’ personal interest in a medical or dental career, add to their understanding of the elements of a medical/dental education, and expand their awareness of how medicine/dentistry is practiced in a rural setting.

Gatton Academy Research Internship Grant recipients:

Twelve rising seniors were chosen to receive Gatton Academy Research Internship Grants (RIG) from the Gatton Academy to support research work this summer.  The 2011 RIG recipients, their research locations, mentors, and projects are listed below:

• William Bickett (’12) of Owensboro will conduct research with Dr. Phillip Womble at WKU’s Applied Physics Institute.  His study is on Gamma-ray Spectra in Neutron-Based Explosives Detection Systems.
• Rebecca Brown (’12) of Boston will be working with Dr. Michael Carini of the WKU Department of Physics and Astronomy.  Brown will study Optical Monitoring of TeV Candidate Blazars.
• John “Jack” Ferguson (’12) of Union will be working with Dr. Hemali Rathnayake of the WKU Department of Chemistry on his project titled Fluorescein and FITC Derivatives Functionalized Silsesquioxane/Bridged Silsesquioxane Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterization, and Particle Morphology.
• Alex Gutierrez (’12) of Mt. Washington will be doing research with Dr. Kathryn Saatman at the University of Kentucky’s Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center.  Gutierrez will be researching mild (concussive) brain injuries.
• Anthony Gutierrez (’12) of Mount Washington will perform research with Dr. Alexander Rabchevsk of the University of Kentucky’s Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center, studying locomotor dysfunction after spinal cord injuries.
• Charlotte Humes (’12) of Bardstown will conduct research Dr. Matthew Nee of the WKU Department of Chemistry where she will design, construct, and use a time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectrometer for the purpose of measuring energy and charge transfer in alternative energy materials.
• Christian Jolly (’12) of Henderson will be working on research with Dr. Steven Gibson of the WKU Department of Physics and Astronomy to analyze radio telescope data to investigate galaxy structure.
• Tennessee “Tucker” Joyce (’12) of Harrodsburg will be working with Dr. Richard Schugart of the WKU Department of Mathematics and Computer Science to continue his mathematical analysis of wound healing models.
• Benjamin Rice (’12) of Somerset will be developing a gamma ray spectroscopy system to estimate elemental intensities of neutron interrogated samples under the direction of Dr. Phillip Womble of the WKU Applied Physics Institute.
• David Sekora (’12) of Franklin is researching in knot theory to study DNA with Dr. Claus Ernst of the WKU Department of Mathematics and Computer Science.
• Keaton Smith (’12) of Alexandria will be doing computer science research with Drs. Richard Fox and Jeff Ward of the Northern Kentucky University Department of Computer Science.  Smith will be using artificial intelligence to plan algorithms and genetic algorithms to produce computer-generated music.
• Nicholas Zolman (’12) of Mount Sterling is working with Dr. Tim Gorringe of the University of Kentucky’s Department of Physic and Astronomy to analyze periodic and chaotic motion using a double pendulum.

NCSSSMST Student Research Conference:

Six Gatton Academy students will be presenting research this summer at the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Math, Science, and Technology (NCSSSMST) Student Research Conference at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD.  From June 1-4, these students will join 109 other students from across the country to share their research work through oral and poster presentations.  Gatton Academy representatives and their presentation titles are:

• Andrea Eastes (’12) of Mayfield will give an oral presentation titled “Isolation of the Bacteriophage Liberi”
• Jack Ferguson (’12) of Union will present a poster titled “Synthesis of Fluorescein Isothiocyanate Functionalized Nanoparticles”
• Samantha Hawtrey (’12) of Union will present a poster titled “Isolation, Characterization, and Annotation: the Acquisition of a Novel Bacteriophage Genome”
• Lori Lovell (’12) of Florence will do an oral presentation titled “Isolation of Novus, a Novel Bacteriophage Isolated from Florence, Kentucky”
• Benjamin Rice (’12) of Somerset will present a poster titled “Gamma-ray Spectra in Neutron-Based Explosives Detection Systems”

• Nicholas Zolman (’12) of Mount Sterling will give an oral presentation titled “A Light in the Darkness: Finding Type Ia Supernovae in the CANDELS Hubble Space Telescope Survey”

National Youth Policy Summit:

Four Gatton Academy students will be participating in the National Youth Policy Summit at the Keystone Science Center in Keystone, CO.  This year’s summit on Energy Innovation will take place from June 11 – 18 and will bring together 40 of the brightest students from across the nation to come up with a proposal of policy solutions to the world’s energy needs.  The following Gatton Academy students will participate:

• Laura Claytor (’11) of Berea
• Melanie Hurst (’11) of Bronston
• Samantha McKean (’11) of Cecilia
• Rachel Metcalfe (’11) of Eminence

Experiences Abroad:

This summer, 28 Gatton Academy students will travel internationally for research, language acquisition, credit-based study abroad, and education and cultural travel.  Students will be in China, England, Morocco, Switzerland, and Taiwan.  International research experiences are listed in the former section; other international experiences are:

National Security Language Initiative-for Youth (NSLI-Y):

Two Gatton Academy students have accepted an NSLI-Y scholarship which covers all program costs, travel to the student’s destination, tuition, housing, activities, and more for six weeks. These merit-based scholarships are for high school students studying less commonly taught languages.

• Charlotte Humes (’12) of Bardstown
• Brandon Kerr (’11) of Edmonton

England

For the first time, the Gatton Academy has partnered with Harlaxton College in Grantham, England to offer a three week study abroad course.  The following students will study Introduction to Literature under the direction of Dr. Alison Langdon of the WKU Department of English.  The following students will study romantic poets in the Lake District, Dracula in Whitby, the Brontës on the famed moors near Haworth, and Shakespeare in London’s Globe Theatre, just to name a few of many stops:

• Daylynn Allison (’12) of Mayfield
• William Bickett (’12) of Owensboro
• Lydia Brothers (’12) of Madisonville
• Andrea Eastes (’12) of Mayfield
• Nathan Lasley (’12) of Owensboro
• Taylor Leet (’12) of Louisville
• Lori Lovell (’12) of Florence
• David Sekora (’12) of Franklin
• Keaton Smith (’12) of Alexandria
• Caroline Stivers (’12) of Berea
• Aaron Stolze (’12) of Somerset
• Erin Walch (’12) of Alexandria
• Layne Webb (’12) of Shepherdsville
• Nicholas Zolman (’12) of Mt. Sterling

China

Eight Gatton Academy students will participate in the Chinese Bridge Summer Camp sponsored by the Confucius Institute at WKU, Hanban, and the North China Electric Power University.  This two week camp will give the following students a chance to visit China, learning the language and culture along the way:

• William “Christopher” Brown (’12) of Russell Springs
• Curtlyn Kramer (’12) of Ashland
• Matthew “Stephen” Mattingly (’12) of Elizabethtown
• Samantha McKean (’12) of Cecilia
• Rachel Metcalfe (’12) of Eminence
• Holly Morris (’12) of Bowling Green
• Tyler Parke (’11) of Henderson
• Makka “Annie” Wheeler (’12) of Guthrie

Switzerland

Alexandra DeCarlo (’12) of London and Luke Yap (’12) of Carrolton will be studying literature abroad in Switzerland with Dr. Lloyd Davies of the WKU Department of English.

Other Notable Individual Experiences:

Kia Allen, a graduating senior from Georgetown, will be volunteering at Saint Joseph Health System in Lexington.

Claci Ayers, a graduating senior from Bowling Green, will be shadowing pediatrician Dr. Kelly Kriess and volunteering at the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.

Anthony Bombik, a graduating senior from Union, will be a Teacher’s Assistant in the Center for Gifted Studies’ camp for Verbally and Mathematically Precocious Youth (VAMPY) at WKU.

Madeline Buhr, a graduating senior from Cecilia, will participate in the Teenage Volunteer Program at Hardin Memorial Hospital in Elizabethtown.

Clarice Esch, a graduating senior from Somerset, is interning at the Baker Arboretum in Bowling Green.

Sean Freeman, a graduating senior from Hebron, is programming iPhone apps.

Katherine Goebel, a graduating senior from Simpsonville, will be shadowing veterinarian Dr. Rocky Oliver of the Shelby Veterinary Clinic.

Madeline Lauzon, a graduating senior from Owensboro, will be volunteering with the Theatre Workshop of Owensboro.

Jae Lee, a graduating senior from Hopkinsville, will be volunteering at a local nursing home in Hopkinsville and shadowing various health care professionals.

Justine Missik, a graduating senior from Danville, is volunteering with the Sierra Club.

Jake Moore, a graduating senior from Crittenden, has been admitted to the highly competitive Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Summer Internship Program for Science Students.  Moore will be interning under Dr. John Bissler, studying Nephrology and Biomedical Engineering.

Michael Phillips, a graduating senior from Benton, is conducting research under the direction of Dr. Edward Kintzel at the WKU NOVA Center and will be a teaching assistant at VAMPY.

Tejas Sangoi, a graduating senior from Owensboro, will be volunteering in the Owensboro Medical Health Systems.  He will also be attending national conferences for FBLA and HOSA.

Chandler Santos, a graduating senior from LaGrange, will be tutoring with VAMPY.

Suzanne VanArsdall, a graduating senior from Frankfort, will be returning to Cape Town, South Africa to help with the reconstruction of a safe house for women and children.

Paras Vora, a graduating senior from Owensboro will be shadowing cardiologist Dr. Kishor Vora.

Celia Whelan, a graduating senior from Bardstown, will perform in The Stephen Foster Story and The Wizard of Oz with Stephen Foster Productions.

Lydia Brothers, a first-year student from Madisonville, has been admitted to the seven-week Summer Research Program for High School and Undergraduate Students at the University of Tennessee Space Institute in Tullahoma, TN.  Brothers will receive travel expenses, room and board, and a stipend.

Jordan Currie, a first-year student from Rockfield, will participate in the Music City Drum Corps.

Daniel Dilger, a first-year student from Union, will be developing a cryptographic analysis infrastructure under Dr. Bruce Kessler of WKU to attempt to decrypt the recently released notes from the Ricky McCormick murder investigation.

Andrea Eastes, a first-year student from Mayfield, will be assisting Dr. Michelle Monje of the Stanford University School of Medicine in a research study on Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), a lethal pediatric brain tumor.

Samantha Hawtrey, a first-year student of Union, will represent the 2010-11 WKU Genome Discovery and Exploration Program when she presents research findings at the 3^rd Annual Science Education Alliance Symposium at the Janelia Farm campus of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Ashburn, VA.

Nathan Lasley, a first-year student from Owensboro, will be attending a Boy Scout Summer Camp at Roy C. Manchester Boy Scout Camp.

Jesse Matherly, a first-year student from Nicholasville, will be conducing Alzheimer’s research under the direction of Dr. Linda Van Eldik at the University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging.

Benjamin Rice, a first-year student from Somerset, will be participating in the Naval Academy Summer Seminar in Annapolis, MD.

Aaron Stolze, a first-year student from Somerset, will be participating in the Naval Academy Summer Seminar in Annapolis, MD.  He will also be participating in the Christian Leadership Institute in Danville.

Joseph “Joey” Tutor, a first-year student from Franklin, will be interning at Electronic Warfare Associates in Bowling Green.

Layne Webb, a first-year student from Shepherdsville, will be doing astrophysics research under the mentorship of Dr. Lutz Haberzettl of the University of Louisville’s Department of Physic and Astronomy.