WKU News

Students from the Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentuckyare off to an active summer.

From research internships to community service projects in their home communities, recent graduates and rising high school seniors from the school are engaging across the Commonwealth, nation and world.

Fifty-nine Gatton Academy students will travel internationally for language acquisition, culture study, research and credit-based study abroad. Students will be in China, England, Ireland and Russia.

The Gatton Academy summer internship program started last November as students were introduced to various opportunities. Gatton Academy staff members and the Office of Scholar Development at WKU worked with students as they prepared applications for programs through the winter and spring.

This summer, 91 students are involved in some form of summer learning. Students’ plans are listed below.

National Science Foundation
Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs)

The following three students have been selected for prestigious REUs:

• Nitin Krishna (’14) of Corbin will be a part of the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis REU at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.
• Connor VanMeter (’14) of Lexington will be a part of the Ohio State University Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry REU.
• Gretchen Walch (’14) of Alexandria will be a part of the Biological Discovery in Woods Hole REU at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.

Gatton Research Internship Grant recipients

In its fifth year, the Gatton Research Internship Grant program provides support funding for rising seniors to conduct summer research. Twenty-one students were chosen for summer 2014:

• Dana Biechele-Speziale (’15) of Grayson will be working at the WKU Institute for Combustion Science (ICSET) with Dr. Yan Cao. She will study graphene as a material for energy storage.
• Morgan Blair (’15) of Morehead will be doing research at the Morehead State University Department of Biology and Chemistry. He will be performing water tests to identify sources of contamination.
• Samuel Booth (’15) of Owensboro will be researching with the WKU Department of Mathematics with mentorship from Dr. Claus Ernst. He will study knot theory and program development for theoretical mathematics.
• Andrew Brown (’15) of Central City will work in the Theoretical Division at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico with Dr. Xianzhu Tang studying plasma physics for magnetic fusion energy.
• Justin Bunch (’15) of Elizabethtown will perform research at the University of Kentucky’s Markey Cancer Center with mentorship from Dr. Theresa Fan. He will study lung cancer metabolism.
• Erin Burba (’15) of Paducah will be conducting research at the University of Louisville’s Department of Biology with Dr. Sarah Emery. She will study cellulosic biofuel stock crops on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.
• Lydia Buzzard (’15) of Hopkinsville will be using Google Glass to develop an app for WKU with a team of researchers under the mentorship of Dr. Uta Ziegler at the WKU Department of Computer Science.
• Brian Carlson (’15) of Stanford will be programming to develop a model intermolecular Fluorescence with Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) under Dr. Wieb Vandermeer of the WKU Department of Physics and Astronomy.
• Benjamin Guthrie (’15) of Bowling Green will be working at WKU’s Applied Physics Institute with Dr. Phillip Womble to study micro-sized nuclear power sources.
• Logan Houchens (’15) of Crestwood will work with a team of researchers led by Dr. Uta Ziegler in the WKU Department of Computer Science to develop an app for WKU using Google Glass.
• Brad Hull (’15) of Crestwood will research at the University of Louisville’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology under the mentorship of Dr. Donghoon Chung. He will study molecular interactions of virus replicase proteins.
• Peter Kaminski (’15) of Owensboro will use Google Glass to develop an app for WKU with a team of researchers led by the WKU Department of Computer Science’s Dr. Uta Ziegler.
• Elizaveta Khenner (’15) of Bowling Green will conduct research at Russia’s Perm State National Research University with Dr. Maria Kuyukina. Khenner will study the biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons in a fluidized-bed bioreactor using immobilized Rhodococcus actinobacteria.
• Paige Kington (’15) of Manitou will research with Dr. Ajay Srivastava in WKU’s Department of Biology. She will study the ability of Lunasin to suppress tumor migration/growth in the model organism Drosophila.
• Dimitri Leggas (’15) of Lexington will continue research calculations of stationary scattering states in 1D problems. His work is mentored by Dr. Jeremy Maddox of the WKU Department of Chemistry.
• Augustus Madsen (’15) of Cynthiana will be working at the WKU Institute for Combustion Science (ICSET) with Dr. Yan Cao.
• Vir Patel (’15) of Hopkinsville will do research at Vanderbilt University’s Center for Human Genetics Research. He will use computational biology to trace evolutionary origins of different classes of human disease genes.
• Valerie Richmond (’15) of Bowling Green will continue research with the WKU Department of Chemistry’s Dr. Matthew Nee. Her research uses infrared spectroscopy to study the effect of ionic strength on the structure of nitrate ion.
• Ananya Sharma (’15) of Bowling Green will be studying how silver nanoparticles are taken up by various tissues in the model organism Drosophila in Dr. Ajay Srivastava’s lab at WKU’s Department of Biology.
• William Walters (’15) of Lexington will continue research with Dr. Lance Hahn in the WKU Department of Psychological Sciences. He in mining Twitter data to study neurological actions of informal internet lexicon.
• Jack Wassom (’15) of Bowling Green will be working with Dr. Muhammad Jahan in the WKU Department of Architectural and Manufacturing Sciences using the micro-EDM to study aerospace materials.

NCSSSMST Student Research Conference

Six Gatton Academy students are presenting research this summer at the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Math, Science, and Technology (NCSSSMST) Student Research Conference at the University of Louisville. From July 13-16, these students will join approximately 100 other students from across the country to share their research work through oral and poster presentations. Gatton Academy representatives and their presentation titles are:

• Justin Bunch (’15) of Elizabethtown will give a presentation titled “Discovery and Genomic Comparison of Bacteriophages BustinJunch and Kimya”
• Rachel Cook (’15) of Perryville will present “Discovery and Analysis of Mycobacteriophages Cookland and Enyo”
• Julia Gensheimer (’15) of Bowling Green will present “Scalable Production of Reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO) from Graphite Oxide (GO)”
• Dimitri Leggas (’15) of Lexington will present “Principles of Bipolar Superposition”
• Rena Ryumae (’15) of Union will present a research poster titled “The association of a variant in IRF7 and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)”
• Ananya Sharma (’15) of Bowling green will present “Characterization of Novel Mycobacteriophages Isolated from Different Locations in Kentucky”

Experiences Abroad

This summer, 59 Gatton Academy students will be traveling abroad for study.

National Security Language Initiative-for Youth (NSLI-Y)

Sarah Angelle (’14) of Monticello has received an NSLI-Y scholarship for six weeks of intensive Chinese study in China. The scholarship covers all program costs, travel to China, tuition, housing with a host family, activities, and more. These merit-based scholarships are for high school students studying less commonly taught languages.

Confucius Institute’s High School China Summer Bridge Program 2014

For two weeks in July, five students will travel to China visiting cultural sites and participating in language courses and learning traditional activities thanks to funding from the Confucius Institute’s Confucius Classroom program.

• Dana Biechele-Speziale (’15) of Grayson
• Annabeth Burke (’14) of Mt. Washington
• Kain Kotoucek (’15) of Franklin
• Logan Mitchell (’14) of Hebron
• Joshua “Blake” Sutton (’15) of Franklin

England

Now in its fourth year, the Gatton Academy is once again partnering with Harlaxton College in Grantham, England, to offer a study abroad course. The following students will studyHonors: Introduction to Literature with Professor Walker Rutledge of the WKU Department of English:

• Katherine Allen (’15) of Kevil
• Melissa Anderson (’15) of Frankfort
• Meredith Bickett (’15) of Owensboro
• Morgan Blair (’15) of Morehead
• Michael Blankenship (’15) of Stopover
• India Blasser (’15) of Henderson
• Sam Booth (’15) of Owensboro
• Anna Braun (’15) of Union
• Shelbi Broeking (’15) of Winchester
• Andrew Brown (’15) of Central City
• Ian Canedo-Muzevic (’15) of Guthrie
• Brian Carlson (’15) of Stanford
• David Chamberlain (’15) of Winchester
• Rachel Cook (’15) of Perryville
• Jackeline Orozco Cruz (‘15) of Scottsville
• Milan Doan (’15) of Paducah
• Michael Evans (’15) of Beattyville
• Courtney George (’15) of Maysville
• Benjamin Guthrie (’15) of Bowling Green
• Sarah Herricks (’15) of Paducah
• Logan Houchens (’15) of Crestwood
• Cameron Hubbard (’15) of Louisville
• Bradford Hull (’15) of Crestwood
• Taha Husain (’15) of Lexington
• Peter Kaminski (’15) of Owensboro
• Allyson King (’15) of Florence
• Paige Kington (’15) of Manitou
• Dimitri Leggas (’15) of Lexington
• Kelly Lynch (’15) of Glasgow
• Noah Maikranz (’15) of Beaver Dam
• Anna Mayo (’15) of Henderson
• Kelly McKenna (’15) of Crestwood
• Tyler Meeks (’15) of Custer
• John Meyers (’15) of Lexington
• Melissa Murphy (’15) of Owensboro
• Hailey O’Hair (’15) of Jackson
• NaKeya Owens (’15) of London
• Jonathan Patterson (’15) of Georgetown
• Mollie Pope (’15) of Barbourville
• Rachel Price (’15) of Annville
• Benjamin Riley (’15) of Louisville
• Luke Samuel (’15) of Sparta
• Joshua Stewart (’15) of Crestwood
• William Walters (’15) of Lexington
• Lindsay Walton (’15) of Goshen
• Jack Wassom (’15) of Bowling Green
• Jenna Willet (’15) of Fancy Farm
• Noah Williamson (’15) of Taylorsville
• Sarah Yount (’15) of Jackson
• Phoebe Zimmerer (’15) of Dexter

Ireland

Two students will study with the WKU faculty-led study abroad Landscapes of the Supernatural course with Erin Greunke and Jacob Buechler.

• Abigail Boone (’15) of Simpsonville
• Cameron Hubbard (’15) of Louisville

Other Notable Individual Summer Experiences

• Corbin Allender (’14) of Bardstown is planning a “workaway” summer in Europe.
• Grace Babbs (’14) of Paducah will be completing an internship with the Kentucky Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network (KBRIN) with Dr. Brian Rymond.
• Aaron Brzowski (’14) of Owensboro will travel to Nepal for nonprofit research, volunteerism, and distribution of water filters through the Project Purus organization that he founded.
• Tori Buckley (’14) of Glasgow will participate in the University of Kentucky’s PEPP Step II Medical/Dental School Preparation Program.
• Nathaniel Clause (’14) of Murray will be participating in the American Regions Mathematics League.
• Samantha Dinga (’14) of La Grange will be completing an internship with the Kentucky Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network (KBRIN) with Dr. Vincent Cassone.
• Ethan Gill (’14) of Bowling Green will be attending the Google I/O annual technology conference in San Francisco.
• Hannah Graff (’14) of Alexandria will be completing a research internship at the Wood Hudson Cancer Research Laboratory in Newport studying breast cancer.
• Harry Heyworth (’14) of Prospect will be working with the Northwest Youth Corps.
• James “Marcus” Hughes (’14) of Marion will intern with the Space Telescope Science Institute 2014 Space Astronomy Summer Program in Baltimore with Dr. Ron Allen.
• Naomi Kellogg (’14) of Elizabethtown will be a counselor with WKU’s Center for Gifted Studies SCATS and VAMPY camps.
• Muhammad “Suhaib” Mahmood (’14) of Crestwood is planning a “workaway” summer in Europe.
• Jon “Alex” Malone (’14) of Pikeville will be competing in the National Academic Quiz Tournament High School National Championship and in the High School Academic Pyramid Question’s National All-Star Academic Tournament.
• Logan Mitchell (’14) of Hebron will be a research intern with WKU’s Hoffman Environmental Research Institute.
• Patrick Osterhaus (’14) of Paducah has been chosen as an intern with The Jackson Laboratory’s Summer Student Program in Bar Harbor, ME.
• Hannah Rodgers (’14) of Verona will shadow a general practitioner.
• Austin Smith (’14) of La Grange will be completing an internship with the Kentucky Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network (KBRIN).
• Vishnu Tirumala (’14) of Corbin will be volunteering at Baptist Regional Medical Center.
• Kevin Ziegler (’14) of Bowling Green will be doing research with Dr. Jarrett Johnson in the WKU Department of Biology.
• Melissa Anderson (’15) of Frankfort will be interning at Lockheed Martin.
• Michael Blankenship (’15) of Stopover will intern in Savannah State University’s Bridge to Marine Science program in Savannah, Ga.
• India Blasser (’15) of Henderson will be volunteering at Methodist Hospital in Henderson and at St. Mary’s Health System in Evansville, Ind.
• Abigail Boone (’15) of Simpsonville will be completing coursework through WKU.
• Anna Braun (’15) of Union will be a participant in Operation Catapult at the Rose Hulman Institute of Technology.
• Michael Evans (’15) of Beattyville will be completing coursework through WKU.
• Julia Gensheimer (’15) of Bowling Green will be doing a research internship at WKU’s Institute for Combustion Science (ICSET). She will also be presenting research at the 248th American Chemical Society’s National Meeting and Exposition in San Francisco.
• Courtney George (’15) of Maysville will be completing coursework through the Maysville Community and Technical College.
• Benjamin Guthrie (’15) of Bowling Green will be completing coursework through WKU.
• Sarah Herricks (’15) of Paducah will be completing coursework online.
• Peter Kaminski (’15) of Owensboro will participate in the Air Force Academy’s Summer Seminar in Colorado Springs, Colo.
• Allyson King (’15) of Florence will intern with the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) with Dr. David Moore.
• Kelly McKenna (’15) of Crestwood will be a counselor with the Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana camp.
• Melissa Murphy (’15) of Owensboro will be interning with dermatologist Dr. Nicole Brey.
• Kathryn “Rachel” Price (’15) of Annville will be completing a service project at the McCreary County Park and will be doing online coursewo