WKU News

In spite of recent global events concerning COVID-19, students from The Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky have continued summer learning in virtual internships, reimagined programs and, in some cases, in-person at WKU, around the Commonwealth, and around the globe.

 

In addition to prestigious research internships through the National Science Foundation (NSF) and internships through The Gatton Academy’s new public-private partnership program, the Gatton Sponsored Internship Program, this summer also features virtual study abroad opportunities.

 

“Gatton Academy students actively seek opportunities to continue their learning and contribute to their communities year-round. This summer is no different as they are continuing research and internships online, learning critical languages, and working in family businesses and local grocery stores,” director Dr. Lynette Breedlove said. “I admire our students’ dedication as they contribute to local economies, as well as state and national scientific advances.”

 

A list of grouped student summer plans appears below followed by individual student experiences.

 

NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)

The following students were selected for prestigious NSF REUs: 

 

Hannah Leibman, ‘20 (North Oldham HS, Prospect) The Plant Genome Research Program at the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) is having a virtual Undergraduate Professional Development series. Leibman is taking an online course through BTI at Cornell, learning about the Institute's research and building connections with other researchers. 

Grace McClurg, ‘20 (Ludlow HS, Fort Wright) McClurg is working virtually on Neurotechnologies to Help the Body Move, Heal, and Feel Again through the University of Houston. This opportunity is a research program that allows students to work with neural engineers and neuroscientists at the NSF BRAIN Center in the development of neural technologies that can function as diagnostic tools, neural interfaces, or medical robots.

Laurel Philpott, ‘20 (Nelson Co. HS, Bardstown) Though canceled for this year, next summer Philpott will study how the growth of certain extinct crops influenced the migration of early humans at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis. The REU will include field work in Oklahoma to collect samples, visits to Washington University to utilize their biology labs, and weekly meetings at the botanical garden to discuss graduate school and research presentations.

 

Gatton Research Internship Grant Recipients

In its 11^th year, the Gatton Research Internship Grant program creates summer research opportunities for rising seniors.  Thirteen students were chosen for summer 2020, but because of COVID-19 restrictions, funding was suspended this year. In some cases, recipients are able to continue their research virtually:

 

Ahmad Ateyeh, ‘21 (Western Hills HS, Frankfort) Simulating high-speed metal-forming processes with Dr. Morteza Nurcheshmeh of the WKU School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Sachi Barnaby, ‘21 (Bowling Green HS, Bowling Green) Investigating C-Robotics with simulations and programming with Dr. Ali Buendia of the WKU School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Elizabeth Cook, ‘21 (Adair Co. HS, Columbia) Synthesis of semiconductor nano-particles in ionic liquids with Dr. Lawrence Hill of the WKU Department of Chemistry.

Elisha Fletcher, ‘21 (Russell Co. HS, Russell Springs) Piranha Bite Force and Morphometrics with Dr. Steve Huskey of the WKU Department of Biology.

Nathaniel Gillispie, ‘21 (West Carter HS, Grayson) Manipulating knots in virtual reality with Dr. Claus Ernst of the WKU Department of Mathematics.

Benjamin Handshoe, ‘21 (Hazard HS, Hazard) Determining the incoherent nullification numbers of knots with Dr. Claus Ernst of the WKU Department of Mathematics.

Laura Hanna, ‘21 (Hazard HS, Hazard) Oral Microbial Profile among Different Ethnic Backgrounds with Dr. Luciana Shaddox of the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry.

Krupa Hegde, ‘21 (Larry A. Ryle HS, Union) Identifying genetic screen to investigate genes that may be involved in the pathogenesis of ALS through the use of D. melanogaster with Dr. Ajay Srivastava of the WKU Department of Biology.

Calvin Higdon, ‘21 (Daviess Co. HS, Philpot) Studying the Incoherent Nullification of Knots with Dr. Claus Ernst of the WKU Department of Mathematics.

Gloria Huang, ‘21 (South Warren HS, Bowling Green) Aging and the visual perception of rotation with Dr. Farley Norman of the WKU Department of Psychological Sciences.

Diksha Satish, ‘21 (Western Hills HS, Frankfort) Research on carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae with Dr. Simran Banga of the WKU Department of Biology.

Abdallah Sher, ‘21 (The June Buchanan School, Hazard) Evaluating the effects of aging upon texture-defined shape perception with Dr. Farley Norman of the WKU Department of Psychological Sciences.

Jason Zhang, ‘21 (Bowling Green HS, Bowling Green) Photocatalytic Reactions for Organic Synthesis with Dr. Yongming Deng of the WKU Department of Chemistry.

 

Gatton Sponsored Internship Program

The Gatton Sponsored Internship Program works with Kentucky businesses and organizations who are interested in a tax-deductible, private-public partnership with our program by providing a project-based summer internship to a Gatton Academy student.

 

Interapt

Louisville-based Interapt is excited to partner with the General Assembly to deliver a comprehensive internship program for students between the ages of 16 to 21 with an interest in marketing and technology. The internships are entirely remote. The six-week paid internships offer nearly 30 hours of online learning sprints led by highly respected industry experts in the consumer insights, creative development, channels and execution, measurement and analytics, and marketing technology. Gatton Academy participants follow.

 

Shreeya Arora, ‘21 (duPont Manual HS, Louisville)

Samuel Chang, ‘21 (Bowling Green HS, Bowling Green)

Krupa Hegde, ‘21 (Larry A. Ryle HS, Union)

Gloria Huang, ‘21 (South Warren HS, Bowling Green)

Chloe-Lin Jaiswal, ‘20 (Pendleton Co. HS, Butler)

Jason Kash, ‘21 (Greenwood HS, Bowling Green)

Aarini Panzade, ‘21 (duPont Manual HS, Louisville)

Uria Park, ‘20 (South Oldham HS, Crestwood)

Laurel Philpott, ‘20 (Nelson Co. HS, Bardstown)

Tucker Ramage, ‘21 (Madisonville-North Hopkins HS, Madisonville)

Olivia Sharp, ‘21 (Henry Clay HS, Lexington)

Abdullah Sher, ‘21 (The June Buchanan School, Hazard)

 

Wood Hudson Cancer Research Laboratory

Gatton Academy participants are attending the virtual Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, participating in textbook and journal clubs, and interacting with a full complement of weekly guest speakers.  Instead of doing a lab experiment, the following interns are doing a thought experiment designing an experiment to address a provocative question posed by the National Cancer Institute. 

 

Norman Chan, ‘20 (Conner HS, Hebron)

Ashwin Menon, ‘21 (Simon Kenton HS, Independence)

 

NCSSS Student Research Conference

The annual NCSSS Student Research Conference was hosted virtually by the South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics.  The annual conference provides an opportunity for students in STEM schools to come together and collaborate on learning. Participating in the conference gives students the opportunity to present their original research and get hands-on experience with STEM technologies. 

 

Sarah Hartman, ‘21 (Allen Co.-Scottsville HS, Scottsville)

Ashwin Menon, ‘21 (Simon Kenton HS, Independence)

Sanjana Nasta, ‘21 (North Oldham HS, Prospect)

Aarini Panzade, ‘21 (duPont Manual HS, Louisville)

Mina Ryumae, ‘21 (Larry A. Ryle HS, Union)

Diksha Satish, ‘21 (Western Hills HS, Frankfort)

Jackson Summers, ‘21 (North Hopkins HS, Madisonville)

Jason Zhang, ‘21 (Bowling Green HS, Bowling Green)

 

Friends of Red River Gorge

This is a National Geographic iNaturalist project focused on pollinators and supported by Pollinator.org. 

 

Morgan Burk, ‘21 (Franklin-Simpson HS, Franklin)

Christina Fizer, ‘21 (Powell Co. HS, Ravenna)

Raychel Kool, ‘21 (Campbell Co. HS, California)

Hannah Leibman, ‘20 (North Oldham HS, Prospect)

Starr May, ‘21 (Woodford Co. HS, Versailles)

JT Reagor, ’20 (Campbell Co. HS, California)

Jackson Summers, ‘21 (North Hopkins HS, Madisonville)

Darby Tassell, ’20 (Bowling Green HS, Bowling Green)

 

Experiences Abroad

 

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

NSLI-Y scholarships from the U.S. Department of State fund students for six-to-eight weeks of summer intensive study and immersion in a critical language. The scholarship covers all program costs, travel to-and-from the host country, tuition, housing with a host family, activities, and more. The following students received NSLI-Y Scholarships for summer language study, which are being conducted virtually because of COVID-19:

 

Cat Appelman, ‘20 (Elizabethtown HS, Elizabethtown) Appleman is a graduating student in The Gatton Academy’s STEM + Chinese track taking Chinese classes in WKU’s Department of Modern Languages.

Michael Givens, ‘20 (Green Co. HS, Greensburg) Givens was selected for a summer scholarship to study the Chinese language. 

Melanie Grimm, ‘21 (Paul G. Blazer HS, Ashland) Grimm was selected for the Korean language for a NSLI-Y Virtual Summer Intensive. 

Margot Hare, ‘20 (Rowan Co. Sr. HS, Morehead) Hare will continue her study of the Russian language through her award this summer. She is a graduating student in The Gatton Academy’s STEM + Russian track taking Russian classes in WKU’s Department of Modern Languages.

Krupa Hegde, ‘21 (Larry A. Ryle HS, Union) Hegde will study Turkish through her NSLI-Y Virtual Summer Intensive. 

Jada Hunter-Hays, ‘21 (LaRue Co. HS, Hodgenville) Hunter-Hays will continue her study of the Chinese language this summer. She is a first-year Gatton Academy student studying Chinese through the STEM + Chinese track.

Lauren Taylor, ‘21 (Campbell Co. HS, Cold Spring) Lauren Taylor will continue her study of the Arabic language this summer.  She is a first-year student in The Gatton Academy’s STEM + Arabic track taking Arabic classes in WKU’s Department of Modern Languages.

Sasha Taylor, ‘21 (Dixie Heights HS, Crestview Hills) Sasha Taylor was selected to continue her study of the Russian language. She is a first-year Gatton Academy student studying Russian through the STEM + Russian track.

Janessa Unseld, ’21 (South Warren HS, Bowling Green) Unseld will continue her study of Chinese this summer.  She is a first-year student in The Gatton Academy’s STEM + Chinese track taking classes in the Chinese Language Flagship program at WKU.

 

England

For a tenth straight year, The Gatton Academy was once again going to partner with Harlaxton College in Grantham, England for a study abroad course. However, this year’s program was canceled due to COVID-19. As a consequence, the following students are studying Honors: Introduction to Literature with Drs. Dawn Hall and Ted Hovet of the WKU Department of English:

 

Isaac Anderson, ’21 (Calloway Co. HS, Dexter)

Sachi Barnaby, ‘21 (Bowling Green HS, Bowling Green)

Christine Belance, ‘21 (Fairdale HS, Louisville)

David Boils, ‘21 (Clinton Co. HS, Albany)

Nicholas Clevenger, ‘21 (Paul L. Dunbar HS, Lexington)

Caleb Collins, ‘21 (Fulton Co. HS, Fulton)

Elizabeth Cook, ‘21 (Adair Co. HS, Columbia)

Evelyn Dukes, ‘21 (McCracken Co. HS, Paducah)

Sofia Farmer, ‘21 (Danville HS, Danville)

Caleb Fields, ‘21 (Fulton Co. HS, Hickman)

Lincoln Fuller, ‘21 (Woodford Co. HS, Versailles)

Nathaniel Gillispie, ‘21 (West Carter HS, Grayson)

William “Ty” Gordon, ‘21 (Mercer Co. HS, Salvisa)

Benjamin Handshoe, ‘21 (Hazard HS, Hazard)

Laura Hanna, ‘21 (Hazard HS, Hazard)

Sarah Hartman, ‘21 (Allen Co.-Scottsville HS, Scottsville)

Natalie Heath, ‘21 (Graves Co. HS, Mayfield)

Samuel Hoffman, ‘21 (Knott Co. Central HS, Hindman)

Gloria Huang, ‘21 (South Warren HS, Bowling Green)

Cody Humphrey, ‘21 (Spencer Co. HS, Mt. Eden)

Jada Hunter-Hays, ‘21 (LaRue Co. HS, Hodgenville)

Samuel Leveridge, ‘21 (Russell Co. HS, Jamestown)

Steven Lunsford, ’21 (Elizabethtown HS, Elizabethtown)     

Joseph Lyvers, ‘21 (Bardstown HS, Loretto)

Caden Maners, ‘21 (Harrison Co. HS, Cynthiana)

Emily Mikovch, ‘21 (South Warren HS, Bowling Green)

Jazmine Moore, ‘21 (Elizabethtown HS, Elizabethtown)

Sanjana Nasta, ‘21 (North Oldham HS, Prospect)

Olufunmilola Obielodan, ‘21 (The Frankfort Christian Academy, Frankfort)

Aarini Panzade, ‘21 (duPont Manual HS, Louisville)

Aarohi Panzade, ‘21 (duPont Manual HS, Louisville)

Travis Peden, ’21 (Glasgow HS, Glasgow)

Keegan Pendleton, ‘21 (Hopkinsville HS, Hopkinsville)

Jackson Powers, ’21 (Breckinridge Co. HS, Hardinsburg)

Matthew Poynter, ‘21 (St. Francis DeSales HS, Louisville)

Tucker Ramage, ‘21 (Madisonville-North Hopkins HS, Madisonville)

Mina Ryumae, ‘21 (Larry A. Ryle HS, Union)

Morgan Samples, ’21 (Estill Co. HS, Irvine)

Anabeth Sharpe, ‘21 (Whitley Co. HS, Williamsburg)

Isabella Smith, ‘21 (Bullitt East HS/Bullitt Advanced Math and Science (BAMS), Mt. Washington)

Brannon Spalding, ‘21 (Scott Co. HS, Georgetown)

Treyden Stansfield, ‘21 (Martha Layne Collins HS, Shelbyville)

Matthew Street, ’21 (Paul G. Blazer HS, Ashland)

Alexandra “Sasha" Taylor, ’21 (Dixie Heights HS, Crestview Hills)

Audrey Thacker, ‘21 (Eastern HS, Louisville)

 

BP Global STEM Academies

BP Global STEM Academies are four-week programs connecting STEM through solving global issues with a hands-on curriculum. Summer 2020 Academies consist of a virtual experience with online group challenges, discussions, and mentorship. Summer 2021 will be the study abroad portion.

 

Gloria Huang, ‘21 (South Warren HS, Bowling Green)

Diksha Satish, ‘21 (Western Hills HS, Frankfort)  

 

Other Notable Individual Experiences

 

Shreeya Arora, ‘21 (duPont Manual HS, Louisville) Arora is virtually attending the Conference on National Affairs (CONA), Black Mountain, NC. CONA offers opportunities for young people to do research in areas of national and international concern; to organize this information into a documented proposal; to engage in intensive discussion; and to debate these proposals with understanding young people from other states. The top 25 youth and government students are chosen from every state to attend. Arora was chosen from 8,000 youth and government students in Kentucky.

Ahmad Ateyeh, ‘21 (Western Hills HS, Frankfort) Ateyeh is participating in an online research program through Pioneer Academics.

Morgan Burk, ‘21 (Franklin-Simpson HS, Franklin) Burk is virtually attending the Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs at Northern Kentucky University. It is a three-week opportunity for 70 high school entrepreneurs to team and build business plans and models. Additionally, she is interning with Bowling Green's Scott Murphy company, shadowing project managers, civil engineers, and architects.

Samuel Chang, ‘21 (Bowling Green HS, Bowling Green) Chang is working remotely on research with Dr. Kam Chan of the WKU Finance Department. The research is over the impact of financial literacy levels on graduate school attitudes. They are hopeful the research will be ready for publication in the fall.

Arian Chopra, ’21 (Louisville Male HS, Louisville) Chopra is working virtually with the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center (KSCIRC) Summer Internship through the University of Louisville’s Frazier Rehab Center.

Evelyn Dukes, ’21 (McCracken Co. HS, Paducah) Dukes is working with West Kentucky Aquaponics in Draffenville.

Will Fowler, ’21 (Bethlehem HS, Lebanon) Fowler is participating virtually in the Yale Young Global Scholars program, a two-week academic summer enrichment program.

Krupa Hegde, ’21 (Larry A. Ryle HS, Union) Hegde is presenting her WKU Department of Public Health mentored research at the July Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Amsterdam, Netherlands.  Hegde is presenting her work virtually.

Gloria Huang, ‘21 (South Warren HS, Bowling Green) Huang is virtually teaching three STEMThink Camps, focusing on web/app development and mental health. They will also be hosting a hackathon, HackSTEMThink, taking place in August.

Katelynn Huddy, ’21 (Homeschool, Lewisport) Huddy is conducting research virtually with Dr. Ozkan Ozer in WKU’s Department of Mathematics on the control of vibrating smart materials.

Chloe-Lin Jaiswal, ‘20 (Pendleton Co. HS, Butler) Jaiswal is the recipient of a DAAD RISE internship in Kaiserslautern, Germany at the University of Kaiserslautern in the Laboratory of Engineering Thermodynamics. The program was canceled because of COVID-19.

Nathan Jones, ’20 (Owensboro HS, Owensboro) Jones was accepted to audition to the Brevard Music Center's Summer Festival on violin, a competitive, five-week orchestral and solo music festival for high school and college students. The festival was canceled due to COVID-19. Jones is working on a publication with Dr. Claus Ernst of WKU’s Department of Mathematics.

Ethan Kelly, ’21 (Daviess Co. HS, Owensboro) Kelly is continuing his WKU-mentored research in theoretical physics with Mr. Tony Simpao.

Gabriella Lynn, ’20 - (University Heights Academy, Hopkinsville) Lynn is working at the Mansfield Animal Hospital in Hopkinsville.

Matthew Poynter, ’21 (St. Francis DeSales High School, Louisville) Poynter is participating in the University of Kentucky's Area Health Education Center's (AHEC) Health Researchers Youth Academy. Poynter is also participating in the AHEC shadowing proram at Family Health Centers, Inc.

Mina Ryumae, ’21 (Larry A. Ryle HS, Union) Ryumae received the Olay Internship in Cincinnati. Ryumae is working remotely as a paid INTERalliance intern at Olay for 10 weeks.

Diksha Satish, ‘21 (Western Hills HS, Frankfort) Satish is participating virtually in a bioinformatics workshop with Dr. Mark Farman at the University of Kentucky. The workshop training leads to a research project with Dr. Claire Rinehart of WKU’s Department of Biology focusing on an aspect of fungal genomes. 

Treyden Stansfield, ‘21 (Martha Layne Collins HS, Shelbyville) Stansfield is participating virtually in a bioinformatics workshop with Dr. Mark Farman at the University of Kentucky. The workshop training leads to a research project with Dr. Claire Rinehart of WKU’s Department of Biology focusing on an aspect of fungal genomes. 

Jackson Summers, ‘21 (North Hopkins HS, Madisonville) Summers is participating virtually in the Climate Change Reality training workshop. He is also working as the Social Media Director for the student-run, online magazine Jayzoq Media.

Darby Tassell, ‘20 (Bowling Green HS, Bowling Green) Tassell is job shadowing with veterinarian Dr. Lindsey Petty-Dixon at Smith County Animal Clinic in Carthage, TN.

Elisha VanZant, ‘20 (Henry Clay HS, Lexington) VanZant is participating virtually in the Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP) at the University of Louisville.

Austin White, ’20 (Daviess Co. HS, Owensboro) White is presenting his WKU School of Engineering and Applied Sciences research work at the July 2020 World Congress in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, and Applied Computing in Las Vegas, NV. White will present his work virtually.

Luke Wilson, ‘21 (Greenwood HS, Bowling Green) Wilson is interning at the Baker Arboretum working in horticulture.

Sierra Wyllie, ‘20 (Henry Clay HS, Lexington) Wyllie is an electrical engineering intern at Space Tango, a Lexington company which makes autonomous lab modules to run experiments on board the International Space Station.

Jason Zhang, ’21 (Bowling Green HS, Bowling Green) Zhang is presenting his WKU Department of Chemistry research work at the August American Chemical Society National Meeting in San Francisco, CA. Zhang will present his work virtually.

 

About The Gatton Academy: Established in 2007, The Gatton Academy is Kentucky’s first residential two-year program for gifted and talented high school junior and seniors. The Gatton Academy’s students enroll as juniors and are full-time WKU students pursuing their interests in advanced science, technology, engineering and mathematical careers. The Gatton Academy has been named to Jay Mathews’ list of top-performing schools with elite students for ten consecutive appearances.