Scholar News

Julia Davis – McNichols Foundation Scholar
1st Year Scholar, PhD candidate

Civil & Environmental Engineering
University of Virginia

Research:
As climate change causes flooding to become more frequent and intense, communities across the U.S. are facing difficult and complex decisions about whether and when to relocate. My current research investigates how people make these...

Emily Ariail – McNichols Foundation Scholar
1st Year Scholar, PhD candidate

Biomedical Engineering
Johns Hopkins University

Research:
My research utilizes cutting-edge technology at the interface of molecular engineering and immunology to engineer novel cytokine/antibody fusion proteins that aim to improve and expand the accessibility of cell-based cancer immunotherapies.

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Phoebe Sharp – MWC Chapter Scholar
1st Year Scholar, PhD candidate

Computer Science & Physics
George Washington University

Research:
A handful of the protons and neutrons inside the nuclei of all atoms are found to be coupled together in pairs, a phenomenon called Short Range Correlations (SRCs). These pairs need to...

Katelyn Dial – Joan Jordano Scholar
1st Year Scholar, PhD candidate

Biochemistry and Molecular & Cellular Biology
Georgetown University

Research:
My research investigates how psychedelics work at a specific brain receptor called the serotonin 2A receptor to rapidly reverse the symptoms of depression. I focus on how activating this receptor changes...

Nicholas Arnaud – Mars Foundation Scholar
1st Year Scholar, PhD candidate

Electrical Engineering
University of Virginia

Research:
My research involves designing, testing, and integrating a low noise on-chip circuit for use in detecting extremely faint optical signals. In essence, my circuit converts a weak laser signal into a tangible voltage signal...

Rose Gebhardt – Virginia Wright Memorial Scholar
1st Year Scholar, PhD candidate

Aerospace Engineering
University of Maryland

Research:
My research models the fluid dynamics of robotic fish swimming in close proximity to other agents and to apply feedback control to harness hydrodynamic benefits and perform bio-inspired behaviors. By strategically adjusting the...

Research:

In my research, I design new mixed-valent materials where Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺ ions are connected by bridging atoms or molecules, and study how electrons move between the ions using techniques like Mössbauer spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, UV-Vis spectroscopy...

Research:

My research seeks to explore the development of novel soft robots, which utilize a flexible hemispherical shell coupled with pneumatic or hydraulic actuation to produce a complex “Pac-Man” grasping shape. Because soft robots tend to deform...

ARCS MWC Scholar Alum John Hickey, who is now an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Duke University, received an Early Career Research Grant from the Human Frontier Science Program. John and his collaborators aim to understand how cytokines, growth factors and other small, soluble molecules, can direct cell behavior...

Research:
Identifying treatment strategies to increase immune cell accumulation in pancreatic cancer in order to improve patient responses to immunotherapy. Specifically, utilizing high-throughput single-cell proteomic analysis technologies to identify immune cell populations that promote anti-tumor...