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Overview STEM Fellow Expectations Portal to the Public STEM Fellow Biographies
Overview
Becoming a STEM Fellow is a matter of having the desire to learn and work with others to develop an interactive exploration project and engage with the community after the workshops. You can participate as an individual, a lab group, a department, or even as a research center.
Upcoming Dec/Jan 2022-23 Workshop series
The workshop is split into two unique sessions on Tuesdays from 4pm – 8pm. At the end of these collaborative sessions a Minimal Viable Prototype (MVP) will be produced based on best practice models for online/in-person engagement with science. Individual researchers or lab teams are welcome. Projects can be at any stage, even re-envisioning existing projects or creating projects from scratch as part of a grant project.
Registration for workshop sessions will be available in early Fall 2022.
Existing WI Idea STEM Fellows participants and WI Science Festival prep – WI Idea STEM Fellows – Continuing the Spark Sessions
Registration page https://go.wisc.edu/3b9zag
drop-in for 20 minutes to three hours! – Tuesday, Aug 16th, 2022 – 4pm-7pm, (@Discovery Building)
drop-in for 20 minutes to three hours! – Tuesday, Aug 30th, 2022 – 4pm-7pm, (@Discovery Building)
Expectations
- To ensure you get the most benefit from this program please review all commitments to verify that you are available for all program requirements:
- Attend two workshop sessions (session 1 and session 2)
- Fully participate and complete components between workshop sessions
- Prepare your Exploration Project for inclusion in the UW Science Expeditions, WI Science Festival, Summer Science Camp, or Saturday Science events.
- Participate in at least one support session for your individual/team projects
- Fully participate in three public/online events in the upcoming 12 months using your exploration project.
To fulfill the last requirement, fellows will engage the public through Exploration Stations or public presentations at events such as UW Science Expeditions, Wisconsin Science Festival, Engineering Expo, Science Cafe, Online field trips, Nerd Nite, family science nights and more. Through their training, fellows will develop their stations and presentations with the help of the training team.
Portal to the Public
“Portal to the Public” is a program that was created with support from NSF and IMLS to help researchers and STEM professionals engage with science in the public to promote appreciation and understanding of current science research. Portal to the Public focuses on enhancing face-to-face interactions between you and a few people rather than emphasizing mass communications.
The Portal approach has been designed and refined through NSF and IMLS funding at the Pacific Science Center (PSC) and now in the home of the Institute for Learning Innovation. Portal to the Public at UW-Madison is being implemented through Science Alliance and is now called the Wisconsin Idea STEM Fellows Program. Researchers and STEM professionals of any age and at any career stage will be encouraged to participate.
Early in September 2014 UW-Madison became a member of the Portal to the Public network. The co-founders of the team includes Tom Zinnen, Biotech Center; Megan Madsen, WIPAC; Sara Kobilka, Institute for Chemical Education; and Travis Tangen, WARF.
We are delighted to note that UW-Madison is a pioneer in Portal to the Public: the other 50 institutions have all been science museums, science centers, zoos, arboretums, and nature centers, some within universities. We look forward to the opportunity to find ways to adapt the Portal approach of connecting researchers to public audiences to the particular environment of public land-grant research universities. Portal can enhance the already remarkable resources that strengthen the commitment to the Wisconsin Idea and to work in the public service mission of UW-Madison.
Fellows training will build on their prior experience and extend their talents. By providing structured, short-term training and long-term connections, the Wisconsin Idea STEM fellows program uniquely expands the array of training already available on campus, such as the CIRTL course for graduate students and post-docs, the WISCIENCE course for undergraduates, and volunteer training sessions provided, for example, by the Arboretum and Town Center.
Biographies
At the time of fellowship, Hazem was a graduate research assistant whose focus is on microbiology. He hoped to use this program to help address zoonotic diseases.
Harshit Agarwal, Chemical Engineering
At the time of fellowship, Harshit was a graduate student in the department of chemical engineering. His research focuses on the design, fabrication and characterization of bioinspired materials. Through the fellowship, he wanted to learn the formal process of creating engagement experiences.
Francois Alberge, Microbiology
At the time of fellowship, Francois was a postdoctoral student who focused on microbiology studying the formation of lipid vesicles inside bacterial cells. He hoped to use the training to prepare his participation at the French American Science Festival in 2019.
Sarah Alexander, Civil and Environmental Engineering
At the time of fellowship, Sarah was a graduate student in a Water Systems and Society lab group focusing on water resources planning and management and predicting rainfall and streamflow. She looked forward to a formal training in how to best design an engagement experience.
*Emily Bacon, Microbiology*
At the time of fellowship, Emily was a graduate student studying gene regulation in bacteria and working with highly antibiotic resistant bacteria. She hoped to focus on the prevalence of these bacterial pathogens in human health settings and educate people on why these need to be studied and that we need new ways of fighting bacterial infections.
Steven Baker, Virology
At the time of fellowship, Steven was a postdoctoral fellow studying the biology of the influenza virus hoping to better prevent future infections. He hoped to create an interactive, engaging educational experience to get non-scientists enthused about the interplay between viruses and their hosts. https://mehlelab.com/people/steven-baker/
Allison Bender, Wisconsin Energy Institute
At the time of fellowship, Allison was the Outreach Coordinator at the Wisconsin Energy Institute and the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center. She was building relationships with partners to develop outreach events for a variety of audiences and excited to learn best practices for developing engaging activities. https://energy.wisc.edu/about/energy-experts/allison-bender
*Jonathon Blank, Biomechanics*
At the time of fellowship, Jonathon was a graduate student who was developing intraoperative sensors for use during orthopedic surgeries. He wanted to further interest in topics of engineering and biomechanics for youth and young adults.
Jennifer Bratburd, Microbiology
At the time of fellowship, Jennifer was a graduate student studying human gut bacteria called microbiota and the interactions between the microbiota and pathogens. She was grateful for the opportunity to outreach with the public, practice communicating science to diverse audiences, and build an outreach activity based on her own research.
*Emily Britt, Nutritional Science*
At the time of fellowship, Emily was a graduate student whose work focuses on studying the changes in metabolism that occur in immune cells when they are activated by foreign pathogens such as bacteria. She wanted to learn more about how to translate her work into public engagement. https://morgridge.org/research/metabolism/fan-lab/
*Tom Bryan, Environmental Studies/Supply Chain*
At the time of fellowship, Tom was a doctoral student assessing the environmental impacts of campus food supply chains. He hoped to continue his work in informal science education environments and develop his research into an appealing exploration station.
Jerrod Buckner, Education
At the time of fellowship, Jerrod was an Assistant Outreach Coordinator who was participating in informal teaching with schools and community centers. He hoped to improve upon these skills.
*Joanna Bundus, Evolutionary Biology*
At the time of fellowship, Joanna was a postdoctoral fellow who studied evolutionary biology in Caenorhabditis nematodes. She wanted to learn how to present some aspects of her research to the public.
Anjani Sreeprada Chakrala, Visual Neuroscience
At the time of fellowship, Anjani was a graduate student who was focusing on visual neuroscience and motion perception. She believed the program would equip her with the skills to better communicate her research to the common public.
Lawrence Chen, Polymeric Materials
At the time of fellowship, Lawrence was a graduate research assistant who focused on polymeric materials. He hoped to improve his scientific teaching for K-12.
*Edna Chiang, Microbiology*
At the time of fellowship, Edna was a PhD student studying how hibernation influences the relationship between hibernating ground squirrels and their gut microbes. She created outreach activities teaching hibernation physiology and microbiology. Completing the fellowship helped Edna develop her communication skills for a career in science communication/policy.
https://ednachiang.github.io/
Holly Cho, Evolutionary Biology
At the time of fellowship, Holly was a graduate student who was studying evolutionary-developmental biology in non-model arthropods. She was interested in pursuing a career in science education and/or policy and thought this program would improve the impact of her outreach work.
Anil Kiran Chokkalla, Biotechnology
At the time of fellowship, Anil Kiran was a graduate student who was investigating the abnormal ER-mitochrondrial cross talk in T1DM. He believed this program would help him better explain research to anyone.
Alexander Cicala, Oncology
At the time of fellowship, Alexander was an undergraduate researcher whose focus is on cancer research and molecular biology.
*Aryel Clarke, Biology*
At the time of fellowship, Aryel was a graduate student who was interested in the movement of membranes in cells and how proteins are degraded. She is a first generation college student and was hoping to use her education to benefit non-science and non-college communities as well as educate the public about her works.
*Beth Dalsing, Plant Pathology*
At the time of fellowship, Beth was a postdoctoral student working in the department of Plant Pathology working to understand how Ralstonia solanacearum (a plant pathogen) grows inside host plants. She hoped to improve her ability to communicate complicated topics to a diverse audience.
Debayan De Bakshi, Oncology
At the time of fellowship, Debayan was a graduate student who was studying multiple myeloma drug treatments. He hoped the program would help him communicate his science more effectively.
*Daritza De Los Santos, Environmental Studies*
At the time of fellowship, Daritza was a graduate student at the Nelson Institute for Environmental Conservation. She also was a fellow teaching STEM workshops in NYC public schools.
*Jorge De Los Santos, Science, Technology*
At the time of fellowship, Jorge was a PhD student whose focus is with science and technology. He wanted to help display new technologies for diagnoses.
Ellen Dobson, Bioimage Analysis
At the time of fellowship, Ellen was a postdoctoral researcher who was developing applications of statistically robust computational approaches for open source imaging. She hoped to expand her experience in outreach to become a future facilitator in scientific training and outreach.
Evan Flietner, Cellular and Molecular Pathology
At the time of fellowship, Evan was a graduate research assistant studying how antigen-specific T cells become dysfunctional in the context of multiple myeloma. He hoped to become involved with more political advocacy, more specifically funding and public science literacy.
Cody Frederick, Oncology
At the time of fellowship, Cody was a community health educator researching cancer disparities and conducting outreach and education activities with rural, underserved communities. She did this with Cancer Health Disparities Initiative partners.
*Curran Gahan, Molecular Biology*
At the time of fellowship, Curran was a graduate student whose focus is on the self assembly of biological amphiphilic molecules. He hoped to work with middle or high school students, showing the fun and cool side of science to get them excited about a potential career in science.
*Amani Gillette, Biomedical Engineering*
At the time of fellowship, Amani was a graduate student who works in biomedical optics imaging cellular metabolism using label-free techniques. She hoped to make microscopy and imaging more accessible for outreach without having to incorporate a full microscope setup.
*Anne Lynn Gillian-Daniel, Materials Science*
At the time of fellowship, AnneLynn was a MRSEC Education/Outreach Director. She was working with scientists and engineers to translate their work into engaging and accessible activities for public audiences. She hoped to learn the best practices for developing engaging activities.
Kirsten Gimse, Molecular Biology
At the time of fellowship, Kirstan was a graduate research assistant who studied molecular mechanisms of learning and memory and age-associated cognitive decline. She would like to learn more about scientific outreach targeted adult audiences.
Jackie Hank, Oncology
At the time of fellowship, Jackie was a research professor and distinguished scientist who focuses on immunotherapy of cancer and immune monitoring of patients receiving the therapy. She hosted the UWCCC event on August 4, 2018.
*Camille Henry, Biology*
At the time of fellowship, Camille was an Associate Researcher working on DNA repair proteins in Escherichia coli and more specially on new functions of mediators proteins after damages. She wanted help with organizing a scientific meeting.
Anna Hoefges, Oncology & Pediatrics
At the time of fellowship, Anna was a graduate student who was working on a project identifying antibody targets in mice with melanoma and neuroblastoma to determine treatment outcome and survival. She gave a tour to former patients and hoped to continue doing similar events with improved experiences.
https://www.pediatrics.wisc.edu/research/research-groups/sondel/research-staff/
Steven John, Biology
At the time of fellowship, Steven was a graduate student whose focus was on understanding macrophage lipid metabolism using LC/MS. He hoped for general help from the program.
Rachel Johnson, Environmental Studies/Biological Systems Engineering
At the time of fellowship, Rachel was an MS student in environmental studies and engineering. She studied how historical land use impacts water quality today in Wisconsin.
*Logan Jones, Astronomy*
At the time of fellowship, Logan was a research assistant in astronomy working on observations of very distant and extreme galaxies. He hoped to promote astronomy as “the gateway science.” http://www.astro.wisc.edu/our-people/graduate-students/
Paige Kinsley, Chemistry
At the time of fellowship, Paige was a graduate student developing methods to functionalize optically-active nanomaterials in order to understand the interaction of nanomaterials in complex biological/environmental systems. She hopes to better explain the challenge of finding small things in complex systems. https://www2.chem.wisc.edu/users/kinsley2
Alison Lancaster, Technology
At the time of fellowship, Alison was an alumna volunteer who worked on Expanding Your Horizons and Wisconsin/Work/Women/World in the School of Human Ecology. She hoped to encourage campus resource collaboratives and program support for minority science participation activities.
Eric Larson, Plant Pathology
At the time of fellowship, Eric was a graduate student studying Phytophthora infestans (late blight) in potatoes, working to understand the pathogen host interaction to improve its management. He hopes for his education to benefit non-science and non-college communities and works to educate the public. He was an active member and chair of the graduate student led outreach group What’s Eating My Plants (WEMP). The fellowship was a way to connect with a broader outreach community for himself and for WEMP. What’s Eating My Plants?
*Yu Li, Water Studies*
At the time of fellowship, Yu was a PhD student who was working on the correlations between water quality and land use, hoping to build relationships between different academic departments.
*Wei Liao, Mathematics, Statistics*
At the time of fellowship, Wei was a research associate with expertise in mathematical and computational biomodeling and programming. He hoped to build a bigger network during the fellowship.
Andrew Lynch, Oncology
At the time of fellowship, Andrew was a graduate research assistant. He studied cell division and chromosomal instability in the context of cancer.
*Yuchi Ma, Computer Sciences*
At the time of fellowship, Yuchi was a PhD student who was focused on remote sensing and was interested in displaying the applications of machine learning.
Julia Martien, Biology
At the time of fellowship, Julia was a graduate student studying bacterial metabolism with applications to biofuel production. She was especially interested in conveying the beauty and elegance of biology of blending art with science.
*Javier Martinez, Environmental Studies*
At the time of fellowship, Javier was a graduate research assistant focusing on mitigating the effect on the weather and climate by the utilization of fossil fuels. He wanted to emphasize the importance of diversity of thought, experience, and background to expand the boundaries of knowledge into further heights.
*Jose Martinez, Biology*
At the time of fellowship, Jose was a graduate student who was studying cortical development in Down Syndrome using stem cell models.
Christina Marvin, Chemistry, Climate Science Education
At the time of fellowship, Christina was a postdoctoral research assistant whose focus was on developing content related to climate science education and hoped to broaden her understanding of how science outreach at UW is integrated with the Wisconsin Idea and how to best account for the needs of Wisconsin communities.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinammarvin/
Twitter: @cmarvin67
Bethany McCarty, Chemistry
At the time of fellowship, Bethany was a graduate research student working on a site-selective acylation project on sugars. She hoped to be able to explain her research to a broader audience.
Hongyan Mei, Physics
At the time of fellowship, Hongyan was a PhD student in Electrical and Computer Engineering. His focus was on design and fabrication of flat optical devices based on doped semiconductors. He hoped to learn more public speaking techniques.
Max Miao, Plant Pathology
At the time of fellowship, Max was a PhD student in Plant Pathology. His research interest is studying beneficial plant microbial community interactions. In conjunction with “What’s Eating My Plants?”, he is engaging with the public to combat plant blindness and distilling microbiology colloquially to a large audience.
Patrick Monari, Neuroscience
At the time of fellowship, Patrick was a graduate student who studies the systems in the brain related to hormones and the impact from social behavior. He wanted to engage the public in behavioral neuroscience and more enthusiastically convey his personal research interests.
Zach Morrow, Cellular and Molecular Biology
At the time of fellowship, Zach was a graduate student who studied the function of immune cells in the context of myeloma with expertise in genetics and immunology. He hoped to improve his presentations to engage his audience more.
Laura Muehlbauer, Chemistry
At the time of fellowship, Laura was a graduate student who used mass spectrometry to accurately interrogate proteomes to inform our understanding of health and disease. She was interested in learning how to adapt a difficult concept like mass spectrometry to teach to the public, especially children.
Deborah Muganda-Rippchen, Data Science
At the time of fellowship, Deborah was a research associate working on the outreach and teaching team for the UW Big Data Center. She was interested in improving her teaching skills and was looking for insight and ideas to improve outreach efforts in her position.
Bailey Murphy, Atmospheric Science
At the time of fellowship, Bailey was a graduate research assistant. She was in the atmospheric science department and worked on modeling the impact of forest management on ecosystem processes with a focus on carbon cycle dynamics. She hoped to develop something to use for K-12 children to build the connection between modeling and how we understand climate change.
Personal website: https://baileyamurphy.weebly.com/
Muhammad Umair Mushtaq, Oncology
At the time of fellowship, Muhammad was a Hematology/Oncology fellow whose focus was on malignant hematology and blood cancers.
*Roshan Xavier Norman, Oncology*
At the time of fellowship, Roshan was a graduate student. His research group worked on learning the mechanisms of chromosomal instability.
Tyler Ogorek, Chemistry
At the time of fellowship, Tyler was a graduate student in the Chemistry Department and joined the Golden Lab, where he focuses on synthetic organic and medicinal chemistry. He wanted to improve his ability to engage the youth with his works, and hopes that after the craziness of first-year graduate school and the COVID-19 enforced hiatus he will be able to re-immerse himself in the program.
Victor Outlaw, Chemistry
At the time of fellowship, Victor was a postdoctoral fellow focusIng on the design and synthesis of peptides to block viral infection. He hoped for the experience to give him the tools to create an interactive experience that could engage and communicate his science to broader audiences.
Adam Pagenkopf, Medical Microbiology and Immunology
At the time of fellowship, Adam was a research specialist studying how the immune system interacts with cancer. He had some stations that were being used at the Carbone Cancer Center’s Saturday Science event, he hoped that he would be able to improve them.
Sarah Perdue, Microbiology, Physics
At the time of fellowship, Sarah was a science writer with the UW Carbone Cancer Center. Before then, she had been a bench scientist and/or college science instructor for 15 years. She had an idea for a Saturday Science activity station that explored the concept of precision medicine in cancer treatments, and she wanted help with developing it.
https://www.physics.wisc.edu/directory/perdue-sarah/
Activity write-up/instructions: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QkfzRaZQiE2U8049cPXUTvDGzWKWLQp2JNTIv7IbpEU/edit?usp=sharing
Matthew Phillips, Plant Genetics
At the time of fellowship, Matthew was a research assistant who was focusing on cranberry genetics. He wanted to know more about how to get started in public engagement.
Juliet Pilewskie, Environmental Studies
At the time of fellowship, Juliet was a graduate student looking at how environmental parameters influence precipitable storm clouds and how they impact the Earth’s energy budget and water cycle. She would like to learn how to engage the public on the topic of climate change or another topic that is highly politicized.
Michael Pinkert, Microbiology
At the time of fellowship, Michael was a graduate student researching the imaging of Ultrasound, Second Harmonic Generation Microscopy, and Magnetic Resonance Imaging. He hoped to organize and prepare outreach events and develop his communication of science topics to the public.
Jennifer Riehl, Population Genomics
At the time of fellowship, Jennifer was a postdoctoral fellow who studied the relationship between traits and genes in aspen, the most common forest tree species in North America. She hoped to continue mentoring and expanding her ability to communicate her research and population genetic concepts to all communities.
Ashley Roux, Chemistry
At the time of fellowship, Ashley was a graduate student in the Chemistry department. Through this program, she hoped to learn more about how to get involved.
Hector Salazar, Neuro Radiology
At the time of fellowship, Hector was a research intern working in a neuro radiology lab conducting testing on patients and assessing their progress. He hoped to improve his presentation skills because he was starting to do it for the community.
Rachel Salemi, Microbiology
At the time of fellowship, Rachel was a PhD student in the Microbiology department studying the e. coli starvation response. She hoped to take complex scientific processes and make them accessible through interactive activities.
Julia Shates, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
At the time of fellowship, Julia was a graduate research assistant who researched snowfall in the Subarctic and Arctic using a combination of measurements from different instruments such as ground-based radar. She hoped to outreach to various communities for K-12 and larger scale communication on different platforms.
Anne Sledd, Environmental Studies
At the time of fellowship, Anne was a graduate student who studied how changes in sea ice and snow affect the distribution of energy in the Arctic.
Chen Song, Neuroscience
At the time of fellowship, Chen was a postdoctoral student whose expertise was in the field of neuroscience. He hoped to improve his abilities to engage with the public.
Mary Spraggs, Water Science and Engineering
At the time of fellowship, Mary was a graduate student who focused on improving the Broader Impacts identities for people in underrepresented groups. One of her goals was to create a workshop to help people in these groups to improve their self-identification.
Sam St. Clair, Nutrition Sciences
At the time of fellowship, Sam was a graduate student in Nutrition Science studying the effects of obesity on the liver in genetically modified mouse models. She was very interested in community engaged learning techniques to find new ways of getting her future college-level students involved in sharing science with others.
Travis Tangen, Biology
At the time of fellowship, Travis was a
Kendra Taylor, Neuroscience
At the time of fellowship, Kendra was a graduate student in the Neuroscience Training Program focusing on brain development and how neurons move about in the brain. She hoped to develop her presentational skills and engage the community better.
Jennifer Tran, Biology
At the time of fellowship, Jennifer was a graduate student who was using CRISPR-based tools to study the cell envelope in bacterial pathogens. She hoped to work on her engagement with underrepresented groups especially women and minorities and how to communicate complex scientific topics to non-scientists.
Elizabeth Vittori, Pharmaceutical Sciences
At the time of fellowship, Elizabeth was a graduate student focused on Phage Display using chemical modification. She hoped to improve her presentation skills and efficiently communicate research projects in a few words.
Heidi Wagner, Healthcare
At the time of fellowship, Heidi was a graduate student whose focus was in healthcare, movement disorders, and seniors. She hoped to develop new ideas for exhibits.
Morgan Walcheck, Oncology
At the time of fellowship, Morgan was a graduate student studying the protective role of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor in the development of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. She hoped to develop poster presentations, network, and communicate with kids.
Kristy Wendt, Biomedical Science
At the time of fellowship, Kristy was an administrator with her Master’s degree in Biomedical Science and entering a PhD program in Biomedical Engineering. She had been long interested in science outreach before the fellowship.
Josie Werner, Biochemistry
At the time of fellowship, Josie was a graduate student who was studying the biochemistry of how neurons develop in fruit flies. She hoped to focus on making science more accessible to everyone.
Leroy Williams, Neuroscience
At the time of fellowship, Leroy was a research assistant working on the Alzheimer’s Disease Connectome Project by collecting neuropsychology data and neuroimaging. He hoped to develop his professional and personal skills by getting the tools to effectively communicate his research to the public.
Xiaochen Xiaochen, Statistics, Engineering
At the time of fellowship, Xiaochen was a student studying engineering and statistics.
Katie Yang, Neuroscience
At the time of fellowship, Katie was a graduate student who studied the relationship between ingestive deficits and Parkinson’s disease for the Neuroscience Training Program. She hoped to develop an activity that could take place at Science Expeditions and expand her network.
Yizhou Yao, Biomedical Engineering
At the time of fellowship, Yizhou was a graduate student in Biomedical Engineering. Yizhou hoped to develop a poster presentation with skills acquired from the fellowship.
Zheng Yu, Materials Science
At the time of fellowship, Zheng was a graduate student whose focus is in materials simulations.
Uzma Zakai, Chemistry
At the time of fellowship, Uzma was an honorary fellow/faculty assistant who was involved with teaching and silicon chemistry. She worked with extending the use of silicon biosteres to develop medicinal compounds that might have failed in late stages of development. She hoped to be able to communicate her research with the public as well as with funding agencies.
Steven Zwickel, Technical Communications
At the time of fellowship, Steven was a faculty associate who built a model of a common cold virus using his skills from his Technical Communications course he taught. He believes his research on viruses should be shared with others and could be demonstrated with an exhibit.
Adam Pagenkopf
Evan Flietner
Zach Morrow
Alexander Cicala