Eleven undergraduate students from the College of Science and Mathematics presented their research at the Birla Carbon Scholars Program 2022 Research Symposium on Aug. 25.
In a partnership between Birla Carbon and CSM, the students received a summer stipend of $4,000 for their research projects. They were sponsored by a faculty member throughout the 10-week summer program which ran from May 23 to Aug. 5.
This year’s program recipients were Ariane Charland-Martin, Riley Bennett, Noam Lewit, Kieran MacDonald, Lauren Massaro, David Melcher, Sandra Nguyen, Isabel Ouko, Kailen Parks and Connor Welch.
This year’s award recipient was Ariane Charland-Martin for her discovery of a degradable polymer that can be used for technological applications. Charland-Martin will be rewarded an additional $2,000 to use towards registration expenses to present at a national scientific conference during the next academic year. She is a chemistry major from Woodstock, Georgia, and worked alongside assistant chemistry professor Graham Collier.
“They are having some kind of a research project with a faculty member, learning how to be a scientist, learning how to be someone and engage in a community is a wonderful opportunity that you can get very rarely,” Dean of CSM and professor of biology Kojo Mensa-Wilmot said, “So the program is phenomenal for doing this. And we need to tell you more about finding ways to expand it because we think more students can benefit from being a part of this. It’s wonderful.”
Birla Carbon is a global leading manufacturer of carbon black additives. The company is a flagship of the larger Aditya Birla Group. One of their two research and development laboratories is located in Marietta. The second is in Taloja, India.
Birla Carbon has partnered with the CSM for more than seven years to provide students with this undergraduate research opportunity. Last year’s award recipient was graduate Ethan Wagner for his electricity conducting polymer that was “durable, environmentally friendly and low-cost.”
“Participating in this has given me exposure. I have learned to see the real-life application of mathematics,” Birla Scholar Isabel Ouko said, “In the ecological field, I’ve been able to learn about software like XP, I’ve been able to learn how to code and how to simulate the traps… it’s been really cool learning about it.”
“It was really fun this summer. It was fun to watch the initial challenges and then overcome those challenges to now get some really beautiful data that she’s presenting here today,” assistant professor of molecular biology Brandon Carpenter said, “So it’s been a rewarding experience for me, and you can see it in her face that she’s excited about it.” Carpenter was also a mentor to Birla Scholar Sandra Nguyen.
To participate in the program, students must be full-time undergraduate students that are pursuing a degree in the College of Science and Mathematics with a minimum GPA of 3.0. Participants must complete an online application, provide a recommendation letter from a sponsoring full-time tenure track faculty, submit an abstract and participate in the 2022 Birla Carbon Symposium.
