Newsletter (March 2023)

Greetings & Happy March Sloan Scholars!

In our quarterly newsletter this month:

• Extended Grant Application Deadline: March 26, 2023
• Featured Scholar Interview with Dr. Brian Pimentel
• Follow Our New SSMN LinkedIn Page
• Self-Promotion & Branding Webinar with Dr. Korie Grayson
• Regional Networking Events
• Scholar Highlights
• Flash Talk Nominations

The SSMN ran into 2023 hosting a range of featured scholar interviews, professional development webinars, and regional networking events for the Sloan Scholar alumni network! We also connected with current and graduated scholars at Duke University’s Sloan UCEM Research Summit and the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Annual Meeting. In this quarterly newsletter, we are excited to announce the extension of our grant application deadline (March 26), highlight Sloan Scholar and engineer, Dr. Brian Pimentel, and detail upcoming events!

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Extended Grant Application Deadline: March 26, 2023!

Our submission deadline for 2023 grant applications has been extended to Sunday, March 26, 2023 at 11:59pm ET. All graduated alumni of the Sloan Legacy, UCEM, or Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership programs. Sloan Scholar graduates can be in any STEM field to apply for this year's grants (seed, career/mentor, conference travel). Visit our portal link to apply. You must create a new account or login through Google or LinkedIn to access the portal.

Login to your SSMN account (or request to join here) to view our grant guidelines, resources and past winning proposals! Please contact our program staff at [email protected] if you have questions or require any assistance. Important grant links:

• Grant Application Portal Link
• Grant Guidelines
• Grant Resources 

Featured Scholar Interview with Dr. Brian Pimentel - Read The Full Article Here! 

This month’s Featured Scholar Interview highlights Dr. Brian Pimentel! Brian is a 2018 Sloan Scholar PhD in chemical and biomolecular ​engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. Brian grew up in the Dominican Republic and lives in San Diego where he works as a Process Development Engineer at Geno, Inc. Geno is a biotech startup advancing green solutions to sustainably produce commonly used materials for reduced negative environmental impacts (Geno). At Geno, Brian conducts laboratory scale testing to validate sustainable process design decisions. 

Prior to this, Brian was a postdoctoral scholar with the Cohen Research Group at UCSD where he collaborated on the investigation of the capture and detection of chemical warfare agents using surface-modified nanoporous silicon sensors. He also worked as a Senior Scientist with Ionis Pharmaceuticals in their process research department to evaluate materials and techniques for the purification of oligonucleotide drug substances. He has received fellowships with the Goizueta, Sloan and National Science Foundation, and has a number of publications focused on adsorption and diffusion of gasses in microporous materials. Brian enjoys the outdoors and is excited to become a new dad in 2023! 

Read the full article to learn more about Brian, his academic and professional work in sustainable engineering, and pursuing careers in industry after graduate school!

Follow Our New SSMN LinkedIn Page!

Follow our new SSMN LinkedIn page to stay in the loop about Sloan Scholar alumni programming, events and professional development opportunities! Please note that our former account was closed due to technical changes on how pages could be hosted within LinkedIn. We apologize for any confusion and inconvenience. We look forward to connecting with everyone through our new page!

Webinar: Self-Promotion & Branding with Dr. Korie Grayson

Date & Time: Thursday, April 6, 2023 at 3:00pm ET

RSVP Link

Join us Thursday, April 6 for a Self-Promotion & Branding webinar featuring Sloan Scholar and biomedical engineer, Dr. Korie Grayson. Dr. Grayson is also an AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow, keynote speaker, and STEM diversity advocate. Join us as she shares best practices for self-promotion and branding! There is no limit to the number of participants that can attend and the workshop will be recorded for scholars to revisit on our website and use as a resource. 

Regional Networking Events

RSVP here to attend upcoming regional Sloan Scholars Networking Events! The entire network of Sloan Scholar MPhD/UCEM and SIGP alumni are welcome and encouraged to attend. We hope these events will provide scholars opportunities to meet and network with one another in a casual, stress-free space. Light appetizers and drinks will be provided. Visit our events page for more details. In-person networking events for Sloan graduates and current scholars are currently scheduled in the following cities:

Sloan Scholar Highlights

• Dr. Malika Grayson, Cornell ‘16, and Dr. Korie Grayson, Cornell ‘20, were featured in the newest issue of Lessons Learned: Stories from Women Leaders in STEM. Order your copy today!
• Dr. Karen Lozano, Rice University ‘99, was recently elected as a new member of the National Academy of Engineering. 
• Dr. Michael Martinez-Colon, USF ‘16,  was recently promoted to Associate Professor at Florida A&M University.
• Dr. Lydia Tapia, Texas A&M ‘09, was recently elected to the Computing Research Association Board of Directors.

Do you have an award, career, publication or other update to share in future newsletters? Send scholar highlights to [email protected]!

Flash Talk Nominations

Complete our flash talk nomination form if you or a Sloan Scholar peer are interested in hosting a flash talk! Flash talks give scholars the space to share about recent achievements, passion projects, publications or any subjects of interest.