Newsletter (Aug 2023): Announcing the 2023 SSMN Grant Winners

Hello & happy fall, Sloan Scholars!

In the SSMN's fall newsletter:

• ⭐ Announcing the 2023 SSMN Awardees!
• 📅 Upcoming Events
• Scholar Highlights
• Renewed Support for SSMN Program

Our summer was full of fresh connections. In June, we were excited to host the SSMN Advisory Board at our Brooklyn headquarters, where staff and board members designed future programming and strategies to best meet the needs of Sloan Scholar graduates. Soon after, we joined SIGP program leaders from around the country at a retreat hosted by the Sloan Foundation. In Honolulu, Sloan graduates came together (along with our very own program assistant, Malu Napuelua, Oʻahu born and raised) for two networking and community volunteering events. Malu also joined the Sloan Foundation’s Higher Ed team in August for visits to two sister SIGP campuses, Montana State and the University of Montana. Looking ahead, we're excited to build on these experiences! Read on to see what’s coming up this fall.

Announcing the 2023 SSMN Awardees
With the generous support of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Sloan Scholars Mentoring Network is pleased to announce the awardees from our 2023 grant competition! The annual grant competition supports research and professional development for Sloan Legacy, UCEM, and SIGP graduates. Awards were granted in three categories:
Research Seed Funding (up to $10,000)
Mentoring & Career Development (up to $5,000)
Conference Travel (up to $2,000)

Read on to learn about this year's stellar awardees, and share our official announcement with your wider networks!

Hisham Ali
Assistant Professor of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado–Boulder 
UCEM Scholar, Georgia Tech ’19, PhD in Aerospace Engineering
Research Project: Design and Integration of Plasma Wind Tunnel Facilities in the Magnetoaerodynamics and Aerospace Plasmas Laboratory

William Booth
Assistant Professor of Clinical Laboratory Science, Winston–Salem State University
Legacy UCEM Scholar, University of South Carolina at Columbia ’16, PhD in Biochemistry
Research Project: Structural Determination and Kinetic Characterization of NAD+ Biosynthesis Enzymes from Streptococcus Pyogenes

 

Joya Cooley
Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Fullerton
Legacy UCEM Scholar, UC Davis ’18, PhD in Chemistry
Research Project: Interrogating “Cool” Pigments as a Heat Island Mitigation Strategy

 

Cody Gonzalez
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas, San Antonio
UCEM Scholar, Penn State ’21, PhD in Mechanical Engineering
Mentoring Project & Travel Award: Multicultural Engineering Graduate Alumni Network (MEGAN): Fall 2023 Mentoring and Career Development for Penn State Sloan Scholars and Graduate Students Underrepresented in STEM

 

Shaquia Idlett-Ali
Postdoctoral Researcher, Radiation Oncology, University of Colorado at Denver,  Anschutz Medical Campus
UCEM Scholar, Georgia Tech ’20, PhD in Biomedical Engineering
Research Project: Targeting nerve-mediated immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma




Dorcas Kaweesa
Mechanical & Aerospace Engineer of Aeromechanics, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
UCEM Scholar, Penn State ’22, PhD in Mechanical Engineering
Mentoring Project & Travel Award: Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 Mentoring and Career Development for Current Graduate Students and Sloan Scholars in STEM at Penn State; Multicultural Engineering Graduate Alumni Network (MEGAN)



Moses Leavens
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Science, McLaughlin Research Institute for Biomedical Sciences
SIGP Scholar, University of Montana ’19, PhD in Biochemistry and Biophysics
Research Project: Investigation of Superoxide Dismutase 1 as a Biomarker for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Daniel Oropeza
Assistant Professor of Materials, University of California, Santa Barbara
UCEM Scholar, MIT ’21, PhD in Mechanical Engineering
Research Project: Nanoparticle material jetting for millimeter-scale functional ceramics

Corasi “Cori” Ortiz
Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Grinnell College
Legacy UCEM Scholar, Purdue University ’06, PhD in Chemistry
Research Project: Synthesis and characterization of nanozymes for biosensing and diagnostics applications

Ruth Plenty Sweetgrass-She Kills
Director of Food Sovereignty, Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College
SIGP Scholar, University of Montana ’16, PhD in Forest and Conservation Sciences
Research Project: Nurturing the Deep Roots of Indigenous Scholars’ and Their Professional Success in STEM fields: An exploration of impact of cultural creative development activities

Kelly Ramirez
Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Texas, El Paso
Legacy UCEM Scholar, University of Colorado at Boulder ’12, PhD in Ecology and Evolution
Research Project: Ecology of aeolian fungal communities in dust storms

Marie Revilla
Associate Professor of Human Nutrition, Food, and Animal Sciences, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa
SIGP Scholar, Purdue University ’11, PhD in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Research Projects: Exploring Dietary Diversity of Native Hawaiian Infants, Completion of Open Educational Textbook (OER) on Lifespan Nutrition, and Submission of Dossier for Full Professorship

Diana Sánchez-Rivera
Assistant Professor of Chemistry & Physics, University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
Legacy UCEM Scholar, University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez ’13, PhD in Applied Chemistry
Research Project: Synthesis of alginate-chitosan containing sulfur (Alg-Chi-S) beads for the remediation of emerging contaminants from water

Steven Santana
Assistant Professor of Engineering, Harvey Mudd College
Legacy UCEM Scholar, Cornell University ’14, PhD in Mechanical Engineering
Research Project: Printing Spatially Complex Biomaterials for Advanced Tissue-Engineering Applications

Clayton Simien
Associate Professor of Physics, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Legacy UCEM Scholar, Rice University ’08, PhD in Physics
Research Project: Quantum Spectroscopy on Two-Photon Transitions in Atomic Sodium

 

Gabriela Sosa
Conservation Manager, Buffalo Bayou Partnership
UCEM Scholar, Texas A&M University at College Station ’19, PhD in Ecosystem Science and Management
Travel Award: Presentation on “Urban Greenspaces: Adaptive Management Strategies at Buffalo Bayou Park” to be delivered at the 10th World Conference on Ecological Restoration in Darwin, Australia


Robert Steward
Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Central Florida
Legacy UCEM Scholar, Carnegie Mellon University ’11, PhD in Mechanical Engineering
Research Project: Biomechanical Mechanisms that Govern Transendothelial Migration

Upcoming Events & Engagement Opportunities

*Note the AISES Conference and SREB Institute are not hosted or sponsored by the SSMN. But we’ll be in attendance!

If you’re interested in collaborating on an SSMN project (such as presenting a professional development webinar/workshop or being interviewed for a scholar highlight), write us a note at [email protected]. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter for resources and to stay in the SSMN loop!

Scholar Highlights

• Grace Bulltail, Cornell ’17, will be a featured speaker at the SACNAS National Diversity in STEM Conference this October.
• Erika Tatiana Camacho, Cornell ’03, was named the Manuel P. Berriozábal Ph.D. and María Antonietta Berriozábal Endowed Chair at UT San Antonio. (linkedin post)
• Roslyn Curry, University of Arizona ’21, kicked off her PhD journey by releasing an FAQ on the “Ethics and the Study of Historic DNA of African Americans Buried at the Catoctin Furnace” for @EadaoinSays’s Catoctin study. Roslyn expresses excitement for being part of a project that encapsulates so many of her passions and matters she cares most about. 
• Anita Moore-Nall, Montana State ’17, joins Montana State University, Bozeman, this fall as an assistant professor of Native American Studies.
• Nicole (Nicki) O’Connell, Montana Tech ’21, started a new position as an Environmental Manager at Montana Precision Products. 
• Brooke Odle, Rutgers University ’14, has been awarded a four-year Towsley Research Scholarship. Dr. Odle also recently received a Pilot Project Award from the RESTORE Center at Stanford University.
• Seafha Ramos, University of Arizona ’16, is one of ten faculty members at Northern Arizona University selected to serve on the advisory council for a new initiative, the Seven Generations Indigenous Knowledge Center. Dr. Ramos was also recently named an Indigenous DataSET Fellow and is recognized as NAU’s first professor of Indigenous Forestry.

Renewed Support for SSMN Program
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation recently announced its renewed support for the Sloan Scholars Mentoring Network. We’ve had six years of community growth, mentorship, and career support so far—and we’re looking ahead to many more! 

We're grateful to the Foundation, to the Social Science Research Council, and to our incredible community of Sloan Scholar alumni-mentors for all they contribute to this shared mission. Together, we're lifting up some of the world's most promising minds in STEM.