University of Washington Early Identification Program
2009-2010 Presidential and Boeing Scholars
2009-2010
Presidential Scholars
Tim Campbell
Research Faculty Mentor:
Professor
Shwetak Patel
Tim is currently a Junior majoring in Mechanical Engineering. He
conducts much of his research through the Paul Allen School of
Computer Science and Engineering. Working out of the Human-Computer
Interfaces lab, Tim began research on a project called HydroSense,
which uses a single sensor to detect water use in the home.
Upcoming work will help further the HydroSense project and develop
power harvesting methods for low-power wireless sensors. Tim
attends Mars Hill Church and enjoys cycling, climbing, and
slackening. Tim is interested in the cross between electrical and
mechanical engineering. In the future he hopes to attend graduate
school for Electrical Engineering and research sustainable
transportation technology and practices.
Ashley
Danies
Research Faculty
Mentor:
Professor Sara Jane Webb
Ashley
Danies is a senior psychology and photography major, currently
conducting research at the University of Washington’s Autism Center. She
first became interested in psychology and psychological disorders after
having witnessed the behavioral and personality changing effects of such
disorders within her own family. In addition to these challenging
circumstances Ashley also noticed a general misunderstanding and dearth
of resources for psychological disorders within society which only
compounded difficulties for her family. Driven by her desire to
understand the underlying biological causes of neurological disorders as
well as to instill an understanding of these causes within her
community, Ashley began studying abnormal psychology and neurobiology.
Within her artwork, Ashley also explores psychological themes, and uses
her photographic sculptures to communicate and explore the ways in which
neurological activity changes how an individual views and interacts with
their environment.
Beginning in Winter Quarter 2009, Ashley began doing research with
infants at risk for developing Autism Spectrum Disorder. She focused on
studying the electrical brain wave differences between these children
and typical infants with regard to facial recognition. As a 2009-2010
Presidential Scholar Ashley will continue to expand upon her research.
She hopes to further uncover the neurological causes of behavior in
psychopathology as well as to catalyze a response in society to better
respond to the challenges such disorders present families and afflicted
individuals.
Safia Farole
Research Faculty
Mentor: Professor
Sapna Cheryan
Safia
Farole is a senior majoring in Psychology and minoring in Political
Science. Born in the war-torn horn of Africa nation Somalia, Safia and
her family relocated to the United States in 1993 before the civil war
in Somalia escalated. Safia's undergraduate academic pathway exhibits
her love for the social sciences, one reason she is seeking to gain
entrance into a social psychology or political science doctoral program.
Currently, she is a Research Assistant in Dr. Cheryl Kaiser's Social
Identity lab. Also, she is conducting an independent research project
with Dr. Sapna Cheryan about the social justice implications of the
Asian model minority stereotype. As a recipient of the 2009-2010
Presidential Scholarship, Safia will conduct her project under the
mentorship of Dr. Cheryan for this academic year.
Outside of her research and academic studies, Safia is an active citizen
in the UW community. Having served as the Public Communications officer
for the student group Muslim Students of Social Work (MSSW) for the past
year, Safia has been involved in a campus wide dialogue that looks at
the social injustices faced by Muslim Americans and Muslims abroad. As a
first generation college student, Safia hopes to inspire other students
from a similar background to obtain their academic goals. It is with
this unrelenting ambition coupled with a drive to effect change in the
world that Safia will be pursuing her PhD.
Margarita Schupp
Research Faculty
Mentor: Professor
Maria Elena Garcia
Margarita Schupp is a current senior at the University of Washington
majoring in Latin American Studies and minoring in Women Studies. As a
student-activist she struggles towards achieving collective liberation and
strives to understand the intersectionality of socialized oppressions. She
enjoys engaging others in confronting “the mainstream” and questioning the
privilege and marginalization that is institutionalized by sociocultural
norms. Her research seeks to explore these avenues of criticism within
labor activism. She wants to learn more about how other womyn activists
within the labor movement have created spaces to empower themselves and
combat Euro-American patriarchy.
2009-2010 Boeing Scholars
Thomas Gomez
Research Faculty
Mentor: Professor
Bruce Balick
Thomas is a Senior double
majoring in Astronomy and Physics and is considering a minor in
Mathematics. Thomas grew up in Yakima County and went to school at Selah
High School. Thomas went to University of Washington in the fall of 2006
and immediately started taking math courses, initially uncertain of what
his focus of study was. A good friend reminded him that his passion was
always for Astronomy. The next day, he went to the Astronomy Department
and signed up as an Astrophysics major. At the same time, Thomas also
talked to Dr. Chris Laws asking if he needed any help with the Manastash
Ridge Observatory in Ellensburg. He immediately started working with a
Physics Graduate student, Joe Huehnerhoff, on his Masters thesis:
Designing and improving the focal reducing optics of the MRO telescope
and using the spectrograph at the observatory. Joe offered Thomas a job
working for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey washing and measuring
spectroscopic plates and measuring ferrules and fibers for those plates.
That same year, Thomas was awarded the John Baer prize for excellence in
academics in the Astronomy Department. Shortly Afterward, through
another Professor, Thomas was able to get a job working for Dr. Bruce
Balick and Dr. Julie Lutz. The goal of the project was to locate
galactic halo planetary nebulae. During the summer of 2009, Thomas
familiarized himself with the research tools needed and utilized the MRO
telescope to conduct observations for the project. He is continuing to
work for Dr. Balick and will be making trips to the American
Astronomical Society to present research as well as to Kitt Peak to take
data for the current research project.
Thomas planning to get a
M.A in Physics while at the UW and plans to go to graduate school at
University of Colorado in Boulder for his Ph.D in Astrophysics and
Planetary Science. Afterwards, Thomas is hopeful to be a candidate to
join the astronaut program at NASA, becoming a teacher afterward.
Alicia Martin
Research Faculty
Mentor:
Professor Celeste Berg
Alicia Martin is a senior majoring in Bioengineering. She is
largely interested in genome sciences, and has been working in this
department since April of her sophomore year. During this time, she
has been studying genes required for the proper formation of tubes
which give rise to essential organs, such as the heart, lungs,
kidneys, gut, and neural tube. As an Integrative Research Intern
supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, she has received
incredible assistance in learning the language of primary
literature documents, understanding research culture, and
presenting her work at other universities. In order to satisfy the
engineering and design requirements of her senior capstone project,
she will be switching projects and investigating antibiotic
toxicity. Specifically, she is interested in understanding which
genes allow individuals to better cope with the nephrotoxic and
ototoxic side effects of aminoglycosides, a class of antibiotics
commonly used to treat cancer patients, burn victims, cystic
fibrosis patients, etc.
As the daughter of a deputy warden/ex-marine and disabled mother as
well as the sister of a cystic fibrosis patient, she has learned
the meaning of discipline, compassion, and perseverance. As a
first-generation low-income college student, she has not had a
guiding map to her future, but has nonetheless been motivated to
attain her goals as a student and researcher. With this driving
ambition, she hopes to pursue her PhD in biomedical sciences.
