Newsletter (Aug 2024): Announcing the 2024 SSMN Grantees!

SSMN Quarterly Newsletter | August 2024

Congratulations, 2024 SSMN Grant Winners!

In this quarter’s newsletter:

1. Upcoming Workshops — Register Today!

2. Announcing the 2024 SSMN Grantees

3. Scholar Spotlight with Dr. Kamuela Yong

4. Career Opportunities: Cornell, Lowell Observatory, NSF Impacts, & more

5. New Resources in DEI and Higher Education

6. Scholar Highlights 

This summer, the SSMN has been hard at work on projects, partnerships, and strategic planning for the upcoming fall season. We kicked off summer with our annual advisory board meeting in New York where SSMN leadership reflected on successes and discussed how we can continue to best shape programs for Sloan Scholar graduates. This year, we're honoring and thanking our outgoing advisory board members, Dr. Renetta Tull and Dr. Cristina Villalobos (Rice '00), and we're welcoming a new board member, Dr. Kamuela Yong (Iowa '12) — who is also the subject of our latest Scholar Spotlight.

We're eager to ramp up our fall initiatives, including career and professional development workshops, the Academic Job Market and New Faculty Boot Camp, a network-wide survey with Higher Ed Insights, and enhancements to our graduate data dashboard. 

Read on to see what's new and coming up in the community.

Upcoming SSMN Workshops

Preparing CVs and Cover Letters for Academic Positions

Tuesday, August 27, 2024, 4:00–5:15 p.m. EST | Link to RSVP

If you’re applying for faculty positions—or planning to start soon—join us for this workshop led by Steven Damo, interim assistant dean at Fisk University and Sloan Scholar alumnus (PhD in Chemistry, UC Berkeley ’07). You’ll work on perfecting the first two building blocks of your application: a well-organized CV and a strong, effective cover letter. 

Research and Recognition: A panel discussion with Sloan Research Fellows

Thursday, August 29, 2024, 2:00–3:15 p.m. EST | Link to RSVP

Join us for a panel discussion with Dr. Josiah Hester and Dr. Antonia Kaczkurkin, early-career researchers whose creativity, innovation, and research accomplishments have earned their recognition as Sloan Research Fellows. The panelists will discuss their experiences navigating their early years in academia and strategies they used to apply for research funding. Lauren von Eckartsberg of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation will co-moderate the panel with SSMN Program Director Veronica Zepeda.

RSVP for one or both events on our fall events form!

Scholar Spotlight: Kamuela Yong

Dr. Kamuela Yong (Kānaka Maoli/Native Hawaiian) is an associate professor of mathematics at the University of Hawai’i–West O’ahu, a co-founder of Indigenous Mathematicians, and a champion of mentoring and faculty diversity. He is the first Native Hawaiian to earn a PhD in applied mathematics, and he has been awarded the 2019 Frances Davis Award, the 2020 University of Hawai’i Regents Medal for Excellence in Teaching, and the Empowering ʻŌiwi Leadership Award. 

In July 2024, Kamuela joined the advisory board for the Sloan Scholars Mentoring Network. Explaining her decision to ask him to join the board, SSMN Program Director Dr. Veronica Zepeda stated that his ongoing involvement, perspectives, and expertise will greatly enhance SSMN programs and leadership.

In this scholar interview, Kamuela shares his inspiring path through higher education and on to his current role — where he integrates Hawaiian and Pacific ancestral knowledge, including navigation and wayfinding, into his curriculum.

Continue reading

Career Opportunities

• Job Opening: Associate Director (Lecturer or Senior Lecturer level), McCormick Teaching Excellence Institute, Cornell University. The Associate Director will contribute to MTEI programs and work with faculty on improving and innovating teaching. Nine-month appointment. See the full job description for more details and how to apply. Specific questions may be directed to MTEI Director, Kathryn Dimiduk via [email protected]. 
• Job Opening: Executive Director, Lowell Observatory. Lowell Observatory’s Executive Director is responsible for all aspects of the Observatory’s success. As the leader of a dynamic team of individuals, the Executive Director will articulate the unique vision of the institution both within the Lowell Observatory community and with constituencies throughout the scientific, educational and governmental communities as well as the general public. The expectation is that this individual will help shape the strategic vision of the institution setting aspirational goals for all aspects of the organization. View the full job posting for details and how to apply.
• Engineering Faculty Mentorship Opportunity: NSF-IMPACTS (Increasing Minority Presence within Academia through Continuous Training at Scale) is a faculty mentoring program that aims to expand the presence of underrepresented groups in the engineering professoriate. Mentees are paired with an emeritus faculty member in a similar sub-discipline and receive added support from a group of senior faculty members from URG populations. This opportunity is open to engineering faculty from groups underrepresented in the engineering professoriate and in STEM broadly. Contact Billyde Brown if you’re interested in participating or have questions: [email protected].  
• Writing Workshop Opportunity: The American Geophysical Union is offering a six-week mentoring circle, “Creating and Publishing Your First Paper,” starting in September. The mentoring circle is free and open to all. The program will also feature a live Q&A with an AGU journal editor and AGU publications staff. Read here for more details and to reserve your free spot in the circle. 

DEI and Higher Education Resources

• The CGS report, "Navigating the Post-SFFA Landscape: Advancing Equity-Minded, Law-Attentive Priority Actions in Graduate, Undergraduate and Professional Higher Education", reflects contributions from a range of higher education leaders and legal experts. This tool provides an overview of how to think about risk when advancing DEI, with an array of concrete examples in seven major areas ranging from inclusive outreach and recruitment to race-themed community spaces.
• The AAAS report, "Leading for a Future of Higher Education Equity: Transforming Supreme Court Challenges into Opportunities for Positive Change", summarizes takeaways from an August 2023 meeting supported by the Sloan and Mellon Foundation. Focusing on the role of senior campus leadership and strengthening their attention to racial equity, the report outlines five proposed solutions, ranging from the pursuit of systemic change to partnering with Minority Serving Institutions.
• The Diversity and the Law Initiative, a collaboration between AAAS and the EducationCounsel, has released updated materials. The materials include legal resources, policy guides, quick study/key issue documents, and adaptable policy and practice models particularly useful to general counsel and other policy makers.
• Virtual Session: Advancing Antiracism & DEI in STEMM Organizations: A Dialogue with the National Academies of Science — Tuesday, August 27 at 11am PT/2pm ET. Speakers from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) will be hosting an interactive dialogue to discuss their report examining the backdrop of systemic racism in the United States, and recommendations to build antiracism, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI) into existing systems to initiate change.

Announcing the 2024 SSMN Grantees
The Sloan Scholars Mentoring Network, with generous support from the Sloan Foundation and the Social Science Research Council, is proud to announce the 2024 SSMN Grantees. All grantees are Sloan Scholar alumni whose awards will advance their research, mentorship activities, or travel to present at premiere convenings in their field. Since 2018, the SSMN grants program has provided over $800,000 in support of our scholars. Read on to learn about this year's grantees, and please join us in congratulating them!
 

Seed Grants (up to $10,000)

Cost-Effective Constructed Wetlands for Domestic Wastewater Treatment

“Conventional onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems (OSTDS) in Florida have low nutrient removal performance, and they are therefore a major source of nitrate (NO3-) pollution to waters. This proposed research seeks to use horizontal sub-surface flow constructed wetlands (HSSF CWs) as a cost-effective method to treat domestic wastewater released from OSTDS. It specifically harnesses biological denitrification driven by sphalerite (a metal-sulfide mineral) and oyster shells to convert NO3- to nitrogen gas (an environmentally benign product).”

Impact of edelfosine on neuronal and microglial inflammation and plasticity markers as a potential epilepsy treatment

“Despite the efficacy of current anti-epileptic drugs, almost 40 percent of people with epilepsy are resistant to treatments. Edelfosine (Ef) is a synthetic lysophospholipid that works as an inhibitor of the phospholipase-C-β3 (PLCβ3), a novel drug target that could regulate excitability associated with epilepsy. In our preliminary studies, we elucidated that Ef promoted the recovery of neuronal population spikes in rat hippocampal slices. Our project's goal is to study the molecular mechanisms of Ef that take place to mitigate excitotoxicity induced by seizures. We propose to determine the expression of genes related to plasticity and inflammation by RT-qPCR in neurons and microglial cells.” 

“Once nanoparticles encounter biological fluids like blood, a layer of proteins adsorb to surfaces forming a protein corona. Notably, nanoparticle surface chemistry is a parameter that influences these protein interactions. Previously, we developed an electrophoresis-based technique to study protein coronas on a class of nanoparticles called dendrimers with primary amines on their surface. Now we aim to use this method to expand protein corona characterization to other dendrimer surface chemistries (hydroxyl and carboxylate groups). Ultimately, these studies will improve the field's understanding of how nanoparticles interact with biological environments and help advance clinical translation of nanomedicines.”

Advancing Healthcare Efficiency using Computer Vision and Robotics

“Our project aims to revolutionize surgical instrument processing by developing a robotic system that is capable of autonomously singulating and inspecting surgical instruments, and assembling surgical trays. With over 51 million surgeries performed annually in the U.S. alone, the need for efficient and accurate instrument handling is paramount. Current manual processes often lead to incomplete or contaminated trays, posing risks to patient safety and increasing healthcare costs. Our solution integrates robotics, computer vision, and artificial intelligence to streamline instrument processing, guaranteeing that trays are assembled correctly and free from contaminants. By automating these tasks, we aim to enhance hospital efficiency, reduce the risk of infections, and ultimately improve patient outcomes.”

Revolutionizing post-operative pain relief with long-term analgesics

“Opioid addiction often arises after prescription opioids for pain management activate the reward system in the brain, leaving a patient wanting more. While non-addictive analgesics can be an alternative to opioid prescriptions, these analgesics have very short half-lives, and there isn’t a pill that patients can take daily. To combat the opioid crisis in America, we are developing a sustained-release polymeric drug delivery system to deliver the analgesic bupivacaine for one week to treat post-surgical pain. This project pursues the further investigation necessary before we can achieve clinical implementation. Successful translation of this innovation eliminates the need for opioid prescriptions, therefore reducing the overall addictions developed and subsequent opioid-related deaths.”

Development of lithium-ion battery actuators through the volume expansion accommodation of silicon-graphite anodes

“The proposed research will involve developing a multi-layered silicon-carbon composite lithium-ion battery actuator to address two problems: the low cyclability of silicon, and the low specific capacity of graphite. By fabricating and characterizing the free deflection as well as the electrochemical performance, this project will help answer whether accommodating the large volume expansion of silicon anodes can improve their electrochemical performance. By accommodating the expansion of the battery anode through bending, we anticipate enhancing both cyclability and gravimetric specific capacity.”

Exploring vitrification as strategy for the management of Li-ion battery cathode-active materials

“Finding innovative methods for sustainable waste materials management is ever more necessary with population growth and the advent of new technologies. This proposal explores vitrification—the making of stable glass forms—as a strategy to process cathode-active materials as key components of lithium-ion batteries. Such electrode materials consist of oxides containing lithium ions, which are known in glass science for their glass modifier function, alongside transition materials (e.g., nickel, cobalt, manganese) capable of conferring special properties to glasses. This exploratory research may pave the way for repurposing the lithium battery component to produce new glass forms with potential for photonic applications, ranging from light-emitting devices to optical filters.”

Development of new laboratory experiments for undergraduate organic chemistry and biochemistry courses focused on the synthesis, characterization and biological evaluation of azo-dyes

“The main goal of this project is to design and develop new laboratory practices in organic chemistry and biochemistry centered around the synthesis and biological evaluation of azoic dyes. Additionally, we plan to evaluate student learning and performance during these new laboratory experiments. We anticipate that these findings will enrich the undergraduate chemistry curriculum and provide opportunities for impactful research, leading to the development of cutting-edge laboratory experiments. In addition, the synthesis of a new azo-dye library will contribute to the discovery of potential antibiotics and anticancer agents, while also furnishing preliminary data for the pursuit of additional funding opportunities.”

Investigation of Metal-Oxide Nanosensors for Early Detection of Electric Vehicle Battery Failure

“As electric vehicles become more prevalent, Lithium-ion battery safety is an increasing concern. When a defect develops in or near the battery cell, flammable gas generation, extensive heating, and, eventually a fire and explosion may occur.  The battery monitoring system of today captures temperature and voltage measurements to determine whether the vehicle battery is near failure. However, this process detects failures after extreme heating and release of toxic gases occur, after thermal runway. The objective of this project is to develop and investigate novel nanosensors for the early detection of battery failure — that is, prior to thermal runaway — in electric vehicles, in conjunction with traditional battery monitoring.”

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Mentoring & Career Development Grants (up to $5,000)
 

Developing and coordinating PFAS and MP/NP collaborations

Collaboration with researchers at Oregon State University to gain experience with sample collection, handling, and analysis protocols for studying per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and micro- and nano-plastics (MP/NP), for the purpose of applying those techniques to an investigation of the extent of PFAS and MP/NP exposure in livestock wells on Diné lands.

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Conference Travel Grants ($2,000)
 

Novel Method for Establishing Fairness Benchmarks in Robotics:
Presentation at the 2025 International Conference on Human Robot Interaction

Symposium Co-Chair, 2024 Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America

Presentation and Participation at the 2024 Convening of the American Psychological Association

Participation in the 2024 Science and Technology in Society Forum

Development and implementation of new laboratory experiments for the organic chemistry course focused on the synthesis of ferrocenyl derivatives:
Presentation at the 2024 Meeting of the American Chemical Society

Fabricated: Spot Fact and Fiction in the Digital Political Landscape:
Participation at the 2025 Association of Computing Machinery CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

Participation in the 2024 Annual Meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicity and Chemistry

Scholar Highlights

• Nekesha Williams (USF '11), assistant professor in the environmental and earth sciences department at Saint Mary's College of California, earned tenure and promotion at her institution. She also won the college's Award for Teaching Excellence this year. She shared, “This was a complete surprise as I was not aware of my nomination, so I am greatly humbled by my Chair's and colleagues' belief that I was deserving of this award as a pre-tenure faculty.” Dr. Williams will lead a strategic workshop in Octobfor Sloan Scholar alumni participating in the SSMN Academic Job Market & New Faculty Boot Camp.
• Gabriela Sosa (Texas A&M ’19) was named one of Houston Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” outstanding leaders for 2024.
• Unoma Okorafor (Texas A&M ’08), founder of Herbal Goodness, was a featured speaker at the Founders’ Breakfast Masterclass this summer in Dallas, hosted by Amazon Black Business Accelerator and Boss Women Media.
• Moses Leavens (Montana ’19), published a paper in Acta Nueropathologica on the development of a Superoxide Dismutase 1 seed amplification assay applied to the neurodegenerative disease Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. His work was funded in part by an SSMN Seed Grant he received in 2023. 
• Lauren Hagler (UIUC ’20) accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Texas A&M University starting this fall. 
• Jessica Granderson (UC Berkeley ’05) was named director of the Building Technology and Urban Systems Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. 
• Yamixa Delgado (UPR–Rio Piedras ’15) was selected for the 2024 cohort of the NIH’s AIM-AHEAD and NCATS Training Program, an intensive 8-month program in advanced data analysis for researchers committed to using AI and machine learning to benefit underrepresented communities.
• Daniel Bird (Purdue ’18) was featured in a Sloan Foundation article about his investigations into elk migration patterns in Montana, a project he hopes will “inform wildlife protection policies and help to increase the Blackfeet Tribe’s access to traditional food and cultural resources.”
• Zakaria Al Balushi (Penn State ’17) was awarded a Bakar Fellows Spark Award and Academic Innovation Catalyst grant to commercialize his project, “Rare-Earth Catalysts for Low Temperature Production of Nitrogen Enriched Materials and Chemicals of High Value.”

Have you recently published a paper, started a new position, gotten a grant, or had another professional experience that you're proud of? Let us celebrate you! Send a note to the SSMN staff at [email protected].