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McNair Scholars The Year of The Scholar

In 2013, 17 of our McNair Alumni completed graduate degrees!

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate them and hope that these scholars’ accomplishments inspire those who are still in the pro-cess of reaching their dream.

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

I n s i d e t h i s i s s ue :

Director’s Message 2

Introducing Cohort 15 3

McNair Scholars Team 3

2013 CPP McNair Symposium 4

Participating in Summer Activities

UC Berkeley Research Experience

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Faculty Profile: Dr. Andrew Voss

Alumni Profiles

Dr. Airek Mathews Dr. Ricardo Ortega

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McNair Program Information 8

Stay Connected: www.csupomona.edu/~mcnair

(McNairCPP Scholars)

 

 

Kelly Ablard - Simon Fraser University, Biology, PhD

Amy Arambulo - California State University, Los Angeles, Sociology, Masters

Brian Armenta - University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Psychology, PhD

Ashley Faytol - California State University, Fullerton, Counseling, Masters

Maria Guzman - University of Southern California, Social Work, Masters

Rosemary Keinembabazi - Cal Poly Pomona, Public Administration, Masters

Ida Legesse - University of Southern California, Public Policy, Masters

William Liang - University of Southern California, Pharmacy, PharmD

Jimmy Ly - University of Pennsylvania, Regional Planning, Masters

Airek Mathews - University of California, Los Angeles, Environmental Health Sciences, PhD

Debra de la Torre - Azusa Pacific University, Environmental Policy and Management, Masters

Jessica Moronez - California State University, Fullerton, Sociology, Masters

Ricardo Ortega - University of California, Santa Barbara, Chicana/o Studies, PhD

Matthew Pieratt - Cal Poly Pomona, Electrical Engineering, Masters

Jena Portanova - Cal Poly Pomona, Botany, Masters

Josefina Wilhelm - Hope International University, Counseling, Masters

Patrick B. Williams - Claremont Graduate University, Psychology, PhD

Jessica Moronez and Rosemary Keinembabazi

receive their silver medals at the June 2013

McNair Scholars Recognition Luncheon. Direc-

tor Winny Dong, and Faculty Advisors Wei

Bidlack and Frank Torres congratulate them.

Join us next year in celebrating the successes

of our current and past cohorts!

Save the date: June 6, 2014

Provide us with updated contact information to

make sure you receive your invitation.

Fall 2013

CPP Faculty Position Openings:

http://

academic.csupomona.edu/

faculty/positions.aspx

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California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Director’s Message Since 1999, the McNair Scholars Program at Cal Poly Pomona has served over 200 students and 33 of them have completed their doctorates so far, with 26 additional scholars currently in PhD programs! I hope this newsletter will give you a glimpse of the wonder-ful things current and past scholars are doing. Our tremendous success is due to the dedicated staff that has served the program over the past 15 years, the brilliant and wonderful students, and the support of the university, the broader community, and the U.S. Department of Education. If you would like to help us continue to thrive, please consider one of these three ways: Sharing Your Successes Let your congressional representatives know what the McNair Scholars Program has allowed you to achieve. Congress sets the budget for the McNair Program. By speaking up for McNair, you will help congressional members see the importance in investing in future leaders and prevent future funding cuts to the McNair Scholars Program. To contact your elected officials, start by going to the following webpages: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm Supporting Scholar Travel Presenting research results at professional conferences is one of the best ways for a Scholar to get noticed by potential graduate faculty mentors as well as providing invaluable opportunities for networking. Additionally, Scholars are encouraged to visit graduate schools and attend recruitment events. Please help by sending in your donation in the enclosed envelope.

Giving to the McNair Scholarships With your help, we are instituting a new scholarship, available only to McNair Scholars, ranging between $500 - $2,000. To contrib-ute to this scholarship, please use the enclosed donation envelope. Thank you. I hope you will stop by and say hello the next time you are near Cal Poly Pomona. Sincerely, Dr. Winny Dong

UC Berkeley Symposium

Mentoring Event

Stanford University Tour

Antonovich Trail Hike

UC Berkeley Dinner Cruise

Summer Research Poster

David Kok

Summer Research

Elvira Trabanino

33 PhD’s Completed

26 in progress 65 Masters Completed

9 in progress

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Winny Dong Director

JESUS BARRIGA

Civil Engineering

Mentor: Dr. Francelina A. Neto

ARAZ BOGHOZIAN

Mechanical Engineering

Mentor: Dr. Mehrdad Haghi

BRIAN BULAYA

Urban and Regional Planning

Mentor: Dr. Kyle D. Brown

AARON CASTELLANOS

Electrical Engineering & Physics

Mentor: Dr. Gerald R. Harp

LINDSEY DAVIS Gender, Ethnicity, & Multicultural Studies

Mentor: Dr. S. Terri Gomez

LUCAS DE BUREN

Civil Engineering

Mentor: Dr. Felipe J. Perez

NHU DO

Biotechnology

Mentor: Dr. Nancy E. Buckley

GABRIELA GARZA-VAZQUEZ

Biology

Mentor: Dr. Andrew Voss

ANA GONZALEZ

Psychology

Mentor: Dr. Felicia Friendly Thomas

ELIZA HERNANDEZ

Biology & Zoology

Mentor: Dr. Erin Questad

ANDREA LAVILLES

Sociology

Mentor: Dr. Anthony Ocampo

MARLENA D. LOPEZ

Biology & Zoology

Mentor: Dr. A. Kristopher Lappin

TALIN MASIHIMIRZAKHANIAN

Mathematics

Mentor: Dr. Ryan Szypowski

CYNTHIA M. MCKEE

Food & Nutrition

Mentor: Dr. Andrew Voss

JOSE MENDEZ

Civil Engineering

Mentor: Dr. Felipe J. Perez

JOCELYN MURILLO History

Mentor: Dr. Paul R. Arreola

DARYL PAITON

Electrical Engineering

Mentor: Dr. Brita Olson

AUDREY PAREDES Gender, Ethnicity, & Multicultural Studies

Mentor: Dr. S. Terri Gomez

JULIO PIZANO

History

Mentor: Dr. Rachel Van

AMANDA RIGGLE English & Education

Mentor: Dr. Edward L. Rocklin

THUAN MINH TRAN

Biotechnology

Mentor: Dr. Wendy Dixon

JILLIAN WALKER

Zoology & English

Mentor: Dr. Rakesh Mogul

Introducing McNair Scholars 2013-14

McNair Scholars Program Team

Wei Bidlack Program Faculty Advisor

Frank Torres Director Emeritus

Elisa Mitchell Project Coordinator

Katherine Azurin Project Coordinator

Fall 2013

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California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Raul Gonzalez “Development of a Smartphone Application for Travel Data Collection” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Xin Ye Samayyah Williams “Analyzing the Microbial Population in Woodchip Bioreactor” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Monica Palomo Luis Valenzuela “Effective Smart Grid Techniques for Wind Energy Source Integration” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Saeed S. Monemi Elvira Trabanino “Adsorption Kinetics for the Removal of Azo Dyes using Magnetite Nanoparticles” Faculty Advisor: Drs. Tanya Faltens and Winny Dong Ajay Singh “Revitalization of a Thermogravimetric Ana-lyzer” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Vilapanur A. Ravi Miguel Rodriguez “Fluid Flow: Understanding the Navier-Stokes Equation” Faculty Advisor: Dr. John Arlo Caine Christopher Ohara “Autonomously Controlled Robot” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Thomas Thoen Sevana Baghdasarian “Applications of Virial-based Mixing Rules (VBMR) for Description of Thermophysical Properties of Multi-component Mixtures” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Sabyasachi Sen Edward Guzman “Control and Mitigation of Thermo-Acoustics Instabilities in a Rijke Tube” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Beverly J. McKeon

Christopher Mihiar “Irrigation Water Policy and Valuation” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Lynda Rush Grace Lim “Stochastic Rumors” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Randall J. Swift Vatche Kaprielian “Radiation Effects on the DBF4 Protein Kinase” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Wendy Dixon Dianne Sanchez “Synthesis and Characterization of α-alanine Coordination Complexes Faculty Advisor: Drs. Barbara Burke and Samir Anz Madilynn Santoyo “The Cultural Influences on Environmental Behavior in Middle Class Households” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Denise Lawrence Melika Shayegh “Effects of y-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) on Motility Parameters of Bovine Sperm” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Sepehr Eskandari Kristin Dettmers “Settling the Waters: Exploring An Iterative Numerical Integration Technique” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Jenny Switkes David Kok “CO2 Capture with Novel Materials” Faculty Advisor: Drs. Tanya Faltens and Winny Dong Ericka James “Non-traditional Students’ Utilization and Satisfaction with Campus Resources” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Felicia Friendly Thomas

Ann Truong “Rejection sensitivity in community college transfers to 4-year universities” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Jeffery S. Mio Jessica Marquez “Democratic Transition: An Analysis of Edu-cation Enrollment and Employment rates in China” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Muniz A. Coson Dora Lopez “Las hijas Del Campo: Testimonios of Mexi-can/Chicana College students” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Corina Benavides-Lopez Christian J. Murillo “Risk Factors for Sexual Coercion at Frater-nity Parties” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Erika DeJonghe Daryl Adkins “Dancing Bomba: A Diasporic Context for Social Change and Meaning in California” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Patricia de Freitas Anna Storti “But You Don’t Look Like a Lesbian: The Portrayal of Queer Life Through a Feminine Experience” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Anita Jain Alejandro Zermeno “Mexican American Identity and the Impact of Traditional Knowledge and Cultural Prac-tices” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Anthony C. Ocampo

14th Annual Ronald E. McNair Scholars Symposium Undergraduate Research Symposium –June 7, 2013

From Left: Chris Ohara,

Edward Guzman,

Anna Storti, Christian Murillo,

Jessica Marquez,

Melika Shayegh, Dora Lopez,

Elvira Trabanino,

Vatche Kaprielian,

Daryl Adkins, Grace Lim,

Miguel Rodriquez,

Ann Truong, David Kok, and

Director Winny Dong.

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Daryl Adkins

UC Berkeley McNair Scholars Symposium

”I left the symposium more inspired to apply straight to doctorate pro-

grams this fall. I learned that taking chances/risks is a part of success.

Meeting fellow scholars and listening to new interesting and exciting re-

search at the undergraduate level motivated me to keep researching and

helped me realize that I have a significant role

in the academic world.”

Edward Guzman

MIT Summer Research Program

“The more I dove into my research, the more challenging and exciting it was. I

enjoyed learning from my own experience rather than from a book and making

small contributions to science.”

Scholar Summer Research Experiences: In their own words...

Raul Gonzalez

UC Berkeley McNair Scholars Symposium

“Attending the UC Berkeley Symposium was such an incredible and unforget-

table experience. It was my first time flying, first time outside Southern Cali-

fornia, and my first time presenting at an outside conference. The conference

motivated me even more to continue my fight to become the first one in my

family to obtain a doctorate degree.”

Fall 2013

Dianne Sanchez

CPP Summer Research Program

”The summer program was beneficial to me because the time allowed me to be productive in the lab as

well as preparing my application materials for graduate school. I loved how much my fellow McNair

Scholars and I bonded during the program too. I have grown and matured as a scholar throughout the

program. I now understand I am capable of doing the high quality of research that is expected at a gradu-

ate level.”

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California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Faculty Mentor Profile

Dr. Airek Mathews McNair Scholars Cohort 8: 2006-2007 2008 -B.S. Chemistry at CPP 2013 - PhD, Environmental Health Sciences at University of California, Los Angeles PhD Dissertation: “Permeation of Cyclohexanol Through Disposable NItrile Gloves ” 1. What was the process of narrowing down your dissertation topic?

My advisor helped me to narrow down the key aspects that I wanted to focus on. After getting preliminary data, I was able to confirm that my ideas were practical.

2. What was the most exciting part of your dissertation and defense? The most exciting part of my dissertation was writing the last chapter. At that point, I knew I was almost done. The most exciting part of my defense was when my advisor walked out and congratulated me as Dr. Mathews!

3. What career options are you considering? Currently I am an Industrial Hygienist/Safety Specialist for the UCLA School of Medicine Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Department. I oversee the safety program and ensure all employees have all the information, techniques, and equipment they need to complete their functions as safely as possible.

4. Share an experience as a McNair Scholar that was particularly helpful to finishing your doctorate? I think learning how to persevere and complete a project from start to end is what helps in preparing a student for a doctorate program. There are many ups and downs during research, and if you do not learn how to stick with it through the worst part, it’s easy to give up. During the McNair Scholars program, I remember working on my research project, and while it did not look promising, I had to see it through.

5. What advice do you have for current McNair Scholars? Always aim for the top and never feel that you are not competitive enough to apply to the program that you really have your heart set on. Perseverance will get you past the hump on your PhD journey and on your way to graduation.

Alumni Profile

“Mentoring in a research laboratory is a

great way to help students learn if

research is something that they enjoy. It

is perfectly in line with Cal Poly’s learn-

by-doing philosophy.”

Dr. Andrew Voss Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences at CPP 1996 - B.S. Biochemistry at University of California, Davis 2004 - PhD, Pharmacology and Toxicology at University of California, Davis PhD Dissertation: “Structure and Function Analysis of Ryanodine Receptor”

Dr. Voss was the first person in his family to obtain a PhD and pursue a profession in research. He grew up in rural Minnesota and Northern California, where his family was involved mostly in construction, agriculture, and business. Dr. Voss decided to pursue a PhD after working as a high school teacher in Sacramento, CA. One difficulty in obtaining a PhD was transitioning to the nontradi-tional environment and work week of academic research, something unfamiliar to most in his family. According to Dr. Voss, “I think some in my family are still wondering if I will get a real job with a real boss – although, becoming a professor has helped.”

After obtaining his PhD from the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine before becoming a professor at CPP in 2009. Postdoctoral programs are essentially a research residency. Post-doctoral training or equivalent positions can be completed in universities or companies. They are almost essential for anyone con-sidering a career involving biological or biomedical research.

(continued on page 7)

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Fall 2013

Dr. Ricardo Ortega McNair Scholars Cohort 6: 2004-2005 2006 - B.A. Gender, Ethnicity, and Multicultural Studies at CPP 2013 - PhD, Chicana and Chicano Studies at University of California, Santa Barbara PhD Dissertation: “Guided by Great Feelings of Love: Using Photovoice and Critical Pedagogy to Document the Life Experiences of Undocumented Latino/a Students in Higher Education” 1. What was the process of narrowing down your dissertation topic?

I had been involved with undocumented student issues since my days at [CPP] where I started the first scholarship for undocumented students on campus. However, like all dissertations, the exact nature of the research really was not solidified until the end of gathering data. So my advice to all graduate students is to be open to wherever the research takes you.

2. What was the most exciting part of your dissertation and defense? The most exciting part of my dissertation was gathering data. I spent a year in the field working with an amazing group of students, and by far that was the most exciting part of my time in graduate school. I wouldn't describe my defense as exciting, however; it was nerve racking and a relief when it was over.

3. What career options are you considering? I am looking into a career in student affairs at a university, or one in the non-profit world. More specifically, I would like to use my degree to continue to work with undocumented student populations in or around higher education.

4. Share an experience as a McNair Scholar that was particularly helpful to finishing your doctorate? The one experience that helped in my graduate career more than any other was the process of conducting and finishing my own re-search project. I believe that those of us grad students who had participated in the McNair program had a little easier time in adjusting to life in graduate school, and for that I am eternally grateful.

5. What advice do you have for current McNair Scholars? For those current McNair Scholars who are about to attend graduate school next year, my advice would be to relax. Graduate school is a marathon, and those who finish are the ones who take it slow and practice self care along the way. So take care of yourself, and un-derstand that it is hard to go from feeling you are on top of the mountain to understanding the journey has just started. Enjoy the journey.

Alumni Profile

(continued from page 6) Dr. Voss is most interested in discovery-based research where one cannot always pre-dict the exact outcome. As he said, “If I know exactly what will happen, it would not be research.” He encourages students not to get discouraged and to stay motivated. “It took me a couple of years to find my passion for research. It is exciting to discover a process or idea that no one else knows. Unfortunately, most classroom labs are unable to repro-duce this aspect of science. Mentoring in a research laboratory is a great way to help students learn if research is something that will enjoy. It is perfectly in line with Cal Poly’s learn-by-doing philosophy.” He also recommends that students try to avoid doing research simply because they want to list the experience on their resume. “Life is too short and grad schools can usually determine when that occurs. Try to find something you enjoy. Then you will be more likely to succeed.” Dr. Voss is a mentor for two McNair Scholars this year, Cynthia McKee and Gabriela Garza-Vazquez. These scholars will work in his lab to examine the dysfunction of skele-tal muscle in mice with Huntington’s disease. His focus is to help students think critically, find and expand their intellectual limits, provide an opportunity to participate in actual research, and learn more about their own career interests.

From Left: Dr. Voss, Cynthia McKee, and Gabriela Garza-Vazquez

About TRIO and the McNair Scholars Program The Federal TRIO Programs (TRIO) are Federal outreach and student services

programs designed to identify and provide services for individuals from disadvan-

taged backgrounds. TRIO includes eight programs targeted to serve and assist

low-income individuals, first-generation college students, and individuals with disa-

bilities to progress through the academic pipeline from middle school to post-

baccalaureate programs.

Designed to assist first-generation, low-income students and those who are un-

derrepresented at the graduate and doctoral level, the program at Cal Poly Pomo-

na was first funded in 1999. The Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achieve-

ment Program is named for Dr. Ronald E. McNair, one of those who perished

aboard the space shuttle Challenger in January 1986.

The McNair Scholars Program at Cal Poly Pomona is a one– or two-year program

designed to improve students’ research skills and prepare them for entering grad-

uate schools and advanced study. This education grant provides an internship

opportunity for students to learn how to do research, present their findings at a

summer symposium and at national conferences, and successfully apply for and

enter graduate school. Through the efforts of the students themselves, the faculty

mentors, and the program staff, these students can achieve their goals.

Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program

Building 8, Room 306

3801 West Temple Avenue

Pomona, CA 91768

Return Service Requested

www.csupomona,.edu/~mcnair

(909) 869-3381

mcnair@csupomona.edu

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Dr. Ronald E. McNair

Fall 2013 Non-Profit Organization

U.S. Postage Paid

Cal Poly Pomona