News & Events

From Engineering to Public Service: A Conversation with Victor Udoewa When you ask Victor Udoewa how he describes his work, his answer is simple: he designs better experiences for the public. As a Principal Service Designer and Chief Experience Officer, he focuses on improving both how people interact with government services and how federal employees deliver them. “We design on both sides,” he ex

By Brittany E. Givens Rassoolkhani (Brittany Givens) PhD in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Iowa, 20192024 SSMN Research Seed Grant RecipientImagine a world where relief for severe pain doesn’t require opioid prescriptions. Why is this important? Because, in 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported over 105,000 opioid-related deaths in the United Stat

Dr. Corasi Ortiz is an assistant professor of Chemistry at Grinnell College. She earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry from Purdue University as a Sloan Scholar.In 2023, Dr. Ortiz received an SSMN Seed Grant to support her research on synthesizing and characterizing nanozymes for biosensing and diagnostic applications. Her grant has created invaluable opportunities for her students to engage in hands-on r

Dr. Moses Leavens is an assistant professor at the McLaughlin Research Institute in Great Falls, MT. He attended the University of Montana, where he earned his M.S. and PhD in biochemistry as a Sloan Indigenous Scholar. In 2023, Dr. Leavens was awarded an SSMN Seed Grant to support his research with the superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) protein. Since receiving his grant, he has published research in

Dr. Diana Sanchez Rivera is a Teaching Professional at the University of Puerto Rico Ponce. She attended the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, where she earned her PhD in applied chemistry as a Sloan Scholar.In 2023, Dr. Sanchez Rivera was awarded an SSMN Seed Grant to support her research on the use of Alg-Chi-S beads to extract two emerging contaminants from water: naproxen and oxybenzone. Th

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 Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) to earn a PhD in applied mathematics, and he's been awarded the 2019 Frances Davis Award, the 2020 University of Hawaiʻi Regents

Dr. Candice Guy-Gaytán (Delaware Tribe of Indians) brings nearly two decades of experience in education to her work as a curriculum developer and research scientist with BSCS Science Learning, a non-profit established in 1959 with a longstanding focus on science curriculum development for K-12 students. Candice’s research interests are in the design and implementation of culturally relevant curric

“If you are the only one in your department who is Latina in a Hispanic Serving Institution, guess where all the students are going to go? If there's only one young woman on your faculty, guess where all the women are going to go? My office was like Grand Central Station.”Dr. Karin Block-Cora, professor of earth and atmospheric science at the City College of New York and member of the SSMN Advisor

About Dr. Cesunica IveyDr. Cesunica "Sunni" Ivey (she/her) is a 2016 Sloan Scholar PhD in Environmental Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She is an Assistant Professor at the University of California Berkeley in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and is the lead PI for the Air Quality Modeling and Exposure Laboratory. She is also the Founder and CEO of BWINST

About The Scholar: Dr. Brian PimentelDr. Brian Pimentel 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

Chibueze AmanchukwuAssistant ProfessorUniversity of Chicago, Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering2018 SSMN Conference Travel Winner2019 SSMN Conference Travel Winner2020 AI + Science seed grant recipient from UChicago’s Office of Research and National Laboratories Joint Task Force InitiativeSloan Scholar PhD in Chemical EngineeringMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyChibueze Amanchukwu won th

Verónica Morales Assistant ProfessorUniversity of California, Davis2018 SSMN Seed Grant Winner2019 NSF CAREER Grant AwardeeSloan Scholar PhD in Biological and Environmental EngineeringCornell UniversityVerónica Morales won a 2019 NSF CAREER Award for her ongoing project: Fundamental Controls of Transport Attributes from Porous Media Microstructure. Visit the Morales Lab's website here.   What is y

Melanie McReynolds Postdoctoral Research AssociatePrinceton University2018 Hanna H. Gray FellowHoward Hughes Medical InstituteSloan Scholar PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyPenn State University Melanie McReynolds was selected by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) as one of 2018’s “15 exceptional early career scientists.” The Hanna Gray Fellowship will fund Dr. McReynolds’ research

Deji AkinwandeAs part of our Featured Interview series, Stanford University Sloan Scholar Deji Akinwande discusses how his fellowship from the Sloan Foundation enabled him to pursue academic research, and how the Sloan Scholars Mentoring Network develops talented graduates into well-rounded academic researchers.Deji Akinwande is an Endowed Faculty Fellow and Professor at the University of Texas at

Cinda Scott As part of our Featured Interview series, Cinda Scott--Sloan Scholar PhD in Marine Biology from the University of Miami-Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science--opens up about her path through graduate school and the uncertainty and risks that led her to her current position as the Director of the School for Field Studies, Center for Tropical Island Biodiversity Studies in 

Malika Grayson​​​​​ Systems Engineer, Future Technical Leaders ProgramNorthrop GrummanSloan Scholar PhD in Mechanical EngineeringCornell University           What is the ONE piece of advice you would give to Sloan Scholars on the cusp of graduating?Once you submit your dissertation, you would have completed a significant chapter of your life. Even if you read it 100 times, read it for the 101th. I

Laura DassamaResearch Associate, Harvard Medical School/Boston Children’s HospitalAssistant Professor of Chemistry, Stanford University (beginning fall 2018)Sloan Scholar PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, 2013         In fall 2018, you will start as an assistant professor at Stanford University, where you'll also be a faculty fellow at ChEM-H, an interdiscip

Brooke Odle Craig H. Neilsen Foundation Postdoctoral FellowSpinal Cord Injury Research on the Translational SpectrumSloan Scholar PhD in Biomedical EngineeringRutgers University (and New Jersey Institute of Technology)    Can you tell us more about your research?My research is focused on simulating, developing and evaluating advanced feedback control systems to automatically regulate standing bala

Michael Martínez-Colón Assistant ProfessorFlorida A&M UniversitySloan Scholar PhD in Marine ScienceUniversity of South Florida            Congratulations to Michael Martinez-Colon, who was recently awarded the Gulf Research Program’s Early Career Research Fellowship! The fellowship awards pre-tenure faculty with a $75,000 unrestricted two-year grant toward research-related costs.    You recently r

Sindia Rivera Jiménez Assistant Director, Integrated Product and Process DesignEngineering Innovation InstituteHerbert Wertheim College of Engineering, University of FloridaSloan Scholar PhD in Chemical EngineeringUniversity of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez     1. What is the one piece of advice you would give to other Sloan Scholars who are considering similar career transitions? (Dr. Rivera Jiménez was