2006-07 Project SEED College Scholarships

The ACS Committee on Project SEED has announced the winners of its 2006-07 college scholarships. Each recipient receives a one-year nonrenewable scholarship of up to $5,000 to help cover tuition and fees during his or her freshman year of college. For the 2006–07 academic year, 50 college scholarships totaling $250,000 were awarded with money from several sponsors.

Alfred & Isabel Bader Scholars

Alfred Bader is one of the founders of Aldrich Chemical (1951), now Sigma-Aldrich. The Baders have supported Project SEED for many years and contributed to the initiation of the Summer II SEED program, which allows students to return for a second summer of more intensive research.

Ali Acosta graduated from Union Hill High School, Union City, N.J. She attends Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, N.J. She worked under the direction of Jay Chung at Stevens on research titled "Lego Robots II: A Virtual Workspace."

Christiana Adeola is a graduate of Arlington High School, Indianapolis. She worked under the direction of James Williams at Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis. Her research was titled "Breaking Kidney Stones with Shock Waves." She attends Purdue University.

Ruby Aguirre graduated from John Marshall High School, Los Angeles. Under the supervision of Krishna Foster at California State University, Los Angeles, she worked on a project titled "Nitrate Photodissociation: Quantum Yield Precision Enhancement." She attends the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Katherine Alberco graduated from Union Hill High School, Union City, N.J. Under the supervision of Joseph Bozzelli at New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, she worked on a project titled "Investigating the Thermochemical Properties of Certain Sulfur Hydrocarbon Radicals." Alberco attends Montclair State University, New Jersey.

Thresiamma Alexander is a graduate of Union Hill High School, Union City, N.J. She attends Long Island University, Brooklyn. She worked under the direction of Kenneth Yamaguchi at New Jersey City University. Her research was titled "Preparation of α, β-Unsaturated Esters by the Knoevenagel Condensation Reaction."

Luthfa Ali graduated from John F. Kennedy High School, Paterson, N.J., and is attending Rutgers University, New Brunswick. She worked under the direction of William Mitchell at Ramapo College of New Jersey, Mahwah. Her research was titled "The Effects of Analgesic Acetaminophen on the Biochemistry, Growth, and Physiology of Maize Seedlings."

Khuchtumur Bum-Erdene graduated from Southport High School, Indianapolis, and attends Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis. Bum-Erdene worked under the supervision of Hiremagalur Jayaram at L. Roudebush Veterans Administration Hospital, Indianapolis, on a research project titled "Study of Functions of a Newly Cloned Mouse Gene."

A graduate of Las Cruces High School, New Mexico, Catherine Casteel attends Trinity University, San Antonio. She worked under the direction of Barbara Lyons at New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, on a project titled "Purification of a Neuronal Migration Protein."

Guadalupe Contreras is a graduate of Pasco High School, Washington state. She worked under the supervision of Allan Felsot at Washington State University, in Richland, on a project titled "Contribution of the Air Backwash Effect from an Axial-Fan Orchard Sprayer to Downwind Pesticide Drift Potential." She attends Washington State University.

Alberto Del Rosario graduated from Manhattan Center for Science & Mathematics, New York City. He worked under the direction of Michel Sadelain at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York City, on a project titled "Molecular Cloning of the Recombinant Expression Vectors that Encode Interleukin 15 and Luciferase for Tumor Immunology Studies." He attends the State University of New York, New Paltz.

A graduate of Northern High School, Durham, N.C., Catherine Ekeleme attends the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She worked under the direction of Barrington Ross at Duke University on a research project titled "Applications of an H/D Exchange and MALDI Mass Spectrometry-Based Technique for the Determination of Protein Stability."

Tanya Gallagher graduated from Escambia High School, Pensacola, Fla. She worked under the direction of Tara M. Sirvent at the University of West Florida, Pensacola. Her research was titled "Polyketide Biochemical Analysis in Hypericum perforatum." Gallagher attends the University of West Florida.

Veronica Garcia is a graduate of Las Cruces High School, New Mexico. Under the direction of Gary Rayson at New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, Garcia worked on a research project titled "Exploration of Surface-Enhanced Raman Detection of Biological Molecules." Garcia attends New Mexico State University.

Sara Gould graduated from Altoona Area High School, Pennsylvania. She worked under the direction of Marta Maurer at Pennsylvania State University, Altoona. Gould's research project was titled "Development of a New 15-Crown-5-Based Photonic Crystal Sensor." She attends the University of Pittsburgh.

A graduate of Orange High School, in New Jersey, Lydia Gourdet attends Drew University, Madison, N.J. She worked under the supervision of Trevor Tyson at New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, on a research project titled "Synthesis of Transition-Metal Oxides."

Dominique Jones graduated from Science High School, Newark, N.J., and is attending Smith College, Northampton, Mass. Jones worked under the direction of Jing Li at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, on a project titled "Synthesis of Metal Organic Frameworks for Hydrogen Storage Application."

Gabrielle Lacy is a graduate of Warren Central High School, Indianapolis. She worked under the direction of Kevin Fales and Heather Barbosa at Eli Lilly & Co., Indianapolis. Lacy's research was titled "Partial Synthesis of a Compound To Be Used for Cancer Treatment." She attends DePauw University, Greencastle, Ind.

Lunet Luna graduated from School Without Walls Senior High, Washington, D.C., and is attending Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Luna worked under the direction of Isiah Warner at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, on a research project titled "Chiral Separations Using Polymeric Surfactants in Mixed-Mode Open Tubular Capillary Electrophoresis."

Kelsey Kohler graduated from St. Basil Academy, Jenkintown, Pa., and attends Rider University, Lawrenceville, N.J. Kohler worked under the direction of Jason Davis at Fredric Rieders Renaissance Foundation, Willow Grove, Pa., on a research project titled "Lithium in Saliva."

Karen Martinez is a graduate of Union Hill High School, Union City, N.J. Under the supervision of Gregory Herzog at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, Martinez worked on a research project titled "Organic Compounds in Micrometeorites." She attends New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark.

Trennece Matlock graduated from Forest Brook High School, Houston, and attends Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas. Matlock worked under the direction of Antoine Carty and Ananda Amarasekara at Prairie View A&M University, in Texas, on research titled "Aloe Vera and Instrumentation Analysis."

Timothy McFadden is a graduate of Sto-Rox Senior High School, McKees Rocks, Pa. He worked under the supervision of Stephen Firestine and Ellen Gawalt at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh. His research was titled "Reactivity of Calcium Aluminates." McFadden attends Pennsylvania State University, University Park.

Henry Rodriguez graduated from Union Hill High School, Union City, N.J. He worked under the direction of Zhi-Hua Fan at the Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Piscataway, N.J. His research was titled "A Comparison of Real-Time Sampler and a PEM Sampler to Diesel Particles." Rodriguez attends Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh.

A graduate of Union Hill High School, Union City, N.J., Swati Shah is attending Rutgers University, New Brunswick. Shah worked under the direction of Kenneth Yamaguchi at New Jersey City University on research titled "Determining Cationic, Anionic, and Pollutant Levels of Water and Soil Samples."

Kyle Skalenko is a graduate of Freehold Township High School, in New Jersey. He worked under the direction of Peter Wepplo at Monmouth University, West Long Branch, N.J., on research titled "A Novel Uracil Synthesis." He attends Rutgers University, New Brunswick.

Dawnee Sloan graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School, Pittsburgh, and attends the University of Pittsburgh. Sloan worked under the supervision of Jennifer Aitken at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, on research titled "Synthesis and Properties of a New Alkali Monothiophosphate."

Ashley Smalls graduated from North Atlanta High School. Under the supervision of Sonya McCall at Spelman College, Atlanta, Smalls conducted a research project titled "A Comparative Study of the Etch Rates of Gallium Phosphide and Zinc Germanium Diphosphide Crystals in Acidic and Basic Solutions." Smalls attends Howard University, Washington, D.C.

Jesse Spaulding is a graduate of Eastern Mennonite High School, Harrisonburg, Va. He did his research project titled "Analyzing Samples for Peroxide during a 24-Hour Temporal Cycling Study" under the supervision of David Tooke at the University of Montana, Missoula. Spaulding attends the University of Montana.

Jonathan Torres graduated from High Tech High School, North Bergen, N.J. He worked under the supervision of Armando Jackson, Ludmilla Olesnicky, and Linda Xiao at Newark Beth Israel Hospital, New Jersey. His research was titled "Blood Usage during Prostatectomies." Torres attends Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore.

Kiva White graduated from East Orange Campus High School, New Jersey. Under the direction of Soon Chun at Rutgers University, Newark, White worked on a research project titled "Managing and Analyzing the Water Quality Data in the Meadowlands Wetlands Sediments." White is attending New Jersey City University.

Bayer Scholars

Bayer Corp. has been a major donor for Project SEED, as well as a major contributor to the Project SEED Endowment.

Elaine Cen is a graduate of George Washington High School, San Francisco. She worked under the supervision of Patrick Morrison at Smith-Emery, in San Francisco. Her research was titled "Geotechnical Research: Soil Analysis." Cen attends the University of California, Davis.

Fely Sita-Makaba graduated from Amos Alonzo Stagg High School, Stockton, Calif., and attends California State University, Sacramento. Sita-Makaba worked under the supervision of Larry Spreer, University of the Pacific, Stockton, Calif., on research titled "The Study of Metal Macrocycles."

Deborah Zhao is a graduate of Galileo Academy of Science & Technology, San Francisco. She worked under the supervision of Ursula Simonis at San Francisco State University. Her research was titled "Synthesis and Characterization of New Tetraphenylporphyrins." Zhao attends the University of California, Davis.

Ullyot Scholars

Glenn Ullyot was an accomplished chemical researcher who worked for Smith Kline & French Laboratories. He was a major contributor to the discovery and manufacture of new drugs of critical value to the medical world. Barbara Ullyot had a management career at ACS.

Marlena Konieczynska graduated from Lawrence High School, Lawrenceville, N.J. She worked under the direction of Paul Lucuski at Rider University, Lawrenceville, on research titled "Synthesis of Substituted Aryl Phosphinic Acids, Ar₂PO₂H, and Manganese Cubic Clusters Mn₄O₄(Ar₂PO₂)₆." She attends Rutgers University, New Brunswick.

Angela Charles graduated from Irvington High School, New Jersey. She worked under the direction of Mohamed Rafi at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, on a research project titled "Nutraceuticals—Cancer Research." Charles attends Montclair State University, New Jersey.

Fosbinder Scholar

The estate of Elizabeth Ernest Fosbinder, wife of late ACS member Russel J. Fosbinder, has provided an endowment in Fosbinder's name for college scholarships to Project SEED graduates.

Chez Brivett is a graduate of George Washington Carver High for the Sciences, Springfield Gardens, N.Y. Under the direction of William Nirode at Hofstra University, Hempstead, N.Y., Brivett did a research project titled "Analysis of B Vitamins in Various Energy Drinks." Brivett attends Union College, Schenectady, N.Y.

Hach Scholars

The Hach Foundation fosters and supports science and science education. It uses both scholarships and a variety of outreach programs to help students develop and sustain interest in the sciences.

Nahida Aktar is a graduate of John F. Kennedy High School, Stem Academy, Paterson, N.J. Under the supervision of Bill Mitchell at Ramapo College of New Jersey, Mahwah, Aktar did a research project titled "The Effect of Acetaminophen on the Dicot Dusty Miller." Aktar attends New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark.

Paul Barajas graduated from Life Academy of Health & Biosciences, Oakland, Calif. Barajas worked under the direction of Linnea Hoover at East Bay Municipal Utility District, Oakland. He analyzed environmental samples for total, suspended, and dissolved solids. Barajas attends the University of California, Davis.

Luis Briseno graduated from Wapato High School, Washington state. He worked under the direction of Allan Felsot at the Environmental Quality Lab, in Richland, Wash., on research titled "Effect of Different Spraying Patterns on Insecticide Residue Deposits on Apple Leaves and Bioactivity against Codling Moth Larvae." He attends the University of Washington, Seattle.

Marilu Cruz graduated from Wapato High School, Washington state, and attends the University of Washington, Seattle. Cruz did research titled "Measuring the Pheromone Release Rate To Disrupt Mating of the Codling Moth" under the direction of Vincent R. Hebert at Washington State University Tri-Cities, Richland.

Adrian Enriquez graduated from Northside High School, Fort Worth, Texas, and attends the University of North Texas, Denton. Enriquez worked under the supervision of Rafael Alvarez-Gonzalez at the University of North Texas on a research project titled "Understanding the Role of pH in Enzymology."

Alisha Jones graduated from E. L. Bowsher High School, Toledo, Ohio. She worked under the guidance of Ronald Viola at the University of Toledo on a research project titled "Aspartate-Semialdehyde Dehydrogenase: A Potential Antimicrobial Target." She attends Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.

Phuong Le graduated from the Chinese Christian School, San Leandro, Calif., and attends the University of California, San Diego. Le worked under the supervision of Diane Griffin, Kenneth Gerstman, Jack Lin, and Dan Mills at East Bay Municipal Utility District, Oakland, Calif. Le's research was titled "Preparation of Sterilized Microbiological Media for Use in Microbiological Analyses of Municipal Potable and Wastewater Samples."

Michelle Lee-Yuen graduated from Oakland High School, California. She worked under the supervision of Andrew Breksa at the Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Service Laboratory, Albany, Calif. Her research project was titled "Determination of Carotenoids in Citrus Samples." Lee-Yuen attends the University of California, Davis.

Nathan Macedo graduated from New Bedford High School, Massachusetts. He worked on a research project titled "Inhibition Studies of Sugar Processing Enzymes" under the direction of Louis Liotta at Stonehill College, Easton, Mass. Macedo is attending Boston College.

Anita Osei is a graduate of Irvington High School, New Jersey. She worked under the direction of Alice Gottlieb at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, N.J., on research titled "Psoriasis: The Search for New Immunosuppressive Drugs." She attends William Paterson University, Wayne, N.J.

Pankita Pandya graduated from Arsenal Technical High School, Indianapolis. Pandya worked under the direction of Juan Jimenez and Chinghai Kao at Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, on a research project titled "Bystander Killing Effect of the Prostate-Specific Replication-Competent Adenovirus, Ad-IU-2." Pandya attends Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis.

Brandon Presley is a graduate of Abraham Lincoln High School, in Philadelphia. He worked under the supervision of Christopher Deibert at the Forensics Mentors Institute of the Fredric Rieders Family Renaissance Foundation, Willow Grove, Pa., on research titled "Development of an Efficient Synthesis of the Methyl Esters of Lactic, Glycolic, and Oxalic Acids." Presley attends Temple University, Philadelphia.

Rushi Shah graduated from Hightstown High School, New Jersey. Shah worked under the supervision of Mark Paczkowski at Elementis Specialties, Hightstown, N.J., on research titled "Monitoring Aggregation Behavior of Polymers Using Fluorescence Spectroscopy." He attends Rutgers University, New Brunswick.

Dean Stanley is a graduate of Peoria Notre Dame High School, Illinois. Under the supervision of Victoria Finkenstadt at the Department of Agriculture, National Center for Agricultural Utilization & Research, Stanley completed a research project titled "Preparation and Characterization of Green Composites Using Poly(lactic acid) and Natural Fibers as Fillers. He attends Illinois Central College, East Peoria.