3 Teams Receive 2020 Cottrell Scholars Collaborative Awards
Research Corporation for Science Advancement has funded three new collaborative projects emerging from discussions at the Cottrell Scholar Conference in July. At $25,000 each, the Cottrell Scholars Collaborative Awards support efforts to improve undergraduate and graduate-level science education.
“Diversity, equity and how best to use technology to address today’s teaching challenges were dominant points of discussion at this year’s conference,” said Senior Program Director Silvia Ronco. “The ideas that emerged are high-impact projects that have the potential to change the culture at colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada.”
Only Cottrell Scholars who attend the annual conference are eligible to apply for CS Collaborative Awards. Working together across disciplines, and in partnership with national initiatives, the teams aim to overcome traditional bottlenecks to excellence in science education.
These projects have received 2020 Cottrell Scholar Collaborative Awards:
Moving the Dial: A Network for Systematic Change
This project seeks to drive diversification and improved equity and inclusion in science by building a national network of groups researching specific arenas of DEI work and creating readily disseminatable work products to support the activities of local change agents.
Lead Cottrell Scholar: Rory Waterman, chemistry, University of Vermont
In collaboration with additional Cottrell Scholars:
Nikki Pohl, chemistry, Indiana University Bloomington
Aaron Leconte, chemistry, Claremont MacKenna College
Carla Fröhlich, physics, North Carolina State University
Sarah Reisman, chemistry and chemical engineering, California Institute of Technology
Laura Chomiuk, astronomy, Michigan State University
Nancy Forde, physics, Simon Fraser University
Lou Charkoudian, chemistry, Haverford College
Jesus Velazquez, chemistry, University of California, Davis
Charles McCrory, chemistry, University of Michigan
David Strubbe, physics, University of California, Merced
Tim Kowalczyk, chemistry, Western Washington University
Jordan Gerton, physics and astronomy, University of Utah
Amanda Hargrove, chemistry, Duke University
Dinah Loerke, physics and astronomy, University of Denver
Ellen Matson, chemistry, University of Rochester
Ashleigh Baber, chemistry, James Madison University
Rigoberto Hernandez, chemistry, Johns Hopkins University
Nandini Ananth, chemistry, Cornell University
Chad Risko, chemistry, University of Kentucky
Geoff Hutchison, chemistry, University of Pittsburgh
Kristen Koutmou, chemistry, University of Michigan
Gina MacDonald, chemistry and biochemistry, James Madison University
Seeing is Believing: Enhancing the Visualization of Atoms, Molecules, and Materials Using Augmented and Virtual Reality
This collaborative aims to develop a process for using augmented and virtual reality in aiding visualization of atoms, molecules, and materials in an effort to enable students in chemistry and physics courses to visualize concepts where conventional resources often prove inadequate.
Lead Cottrell Scholar: Katherine Mirica, chemistry, Dartmouth College
In collaboration with additional Cottrell Scholars:
Kah Chun Lau, physics, California State University, Northridge
Huey-Wen Lin, physics, Michigan State University
Geoff Hutchison, chemistry, University of Pittsburgh
Günther Thiele, inorganic chemistry, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Age of COVID-19: A New STEM Pipeline Model that Grows Undergraduate Research at Minority-Serving Institutions via Collaboration, Personnel Exchange and Online Training
This collaborative’s goal is to expand opportunities for minority students to participate in prolonged research experiences early in their undergraduate studies by developing a new STEM pipeline model that combines high-quality and rigorous collaborative research with research exchanges for undergraduate students starting in their first year at historically Black or Hispanic-serving colleges and universities.
Lead Cottrell Scholar: Shane Ardo, chemistry, University of California, Irvine
In collaboration with additional Cottrell Scholars:
Shannon Boettcher, chemistry and biochemistry, University of Oregon
Tom Markland, chemistry, Stanford University
Yogi Surendranath, chemistry, Massachusetts Institution of Technology
And with:
Yixian Wang, California State University, Los Angeles
Matt Minus, Prairie View A&M University
Niya Sa, University of Massachusetts, Boston
