2014–15 Project SEED College Scholarships

The American Chemical Society Committee on Project SEED has announced the winners of its 2014–15 college scholarships. The recipients, who were selected from participants in ACS’s Project SEED research program, receive one-year nonrenewable scholarships of up to $5,000 to help cover tuition and fees during their freshman year of college. Three scholarships are available for an additional three years of college. The 28 scholarships for the 2014–15 academic year, which have a total value of $140,000, were funded by private corporations and individual donors.

Project SEED is ACS’s summer research program that enables economically disadvantaged high school students to conduct hands-on research. For more information, visit www.acs.org/projectseed.

ALFRED – ISABEL BADER SCHOLARS

Alfred Bader is one of the founders of Aldrich Chemical, now Sigma-Aldrich. The Baders supported Project SEED for many years and contributed to the initiation of the Summer II SEED program.

Yousef Abdelmotaal is a graduate of High Tech High School, in North Bergen, N.J. Under the guidance of Svetlana Sukhishvili at Stevens Institute of Technology, in Hoboken, N.J., he worked on research titled “Synthesizing Temperature-Responsive Polymer-Grafted Clay Nanoparticle Complex Using Advance Transfer Radical Polymerization.” He is majoring in pharmacy at Rutgers University, in New Brunswick, N.J.

Stephanie Benefield is a graduate of Ranburne High School, in Alabama. At Jacksonville State University, in Alabama, she worked under the direction of Nixon Mwebi on research titled “Heavy Metal Adsorption onto Tea Waste.” She is majoring in chemistry at Jacksonville State.

Ravindu Gunawardana graduated from Union City High School, in New Jersey. Gunawardana conducted research titled “Application of Dynamic Programming” under the mentorship of Bruce Bukiet at New Jersey Institute of Technology, in Newark. Gunawardana is majoring in chemical engineering at NJIT.

Henry Ha is a graduate of Clackamas High School, in Oregon. He conducted research under the guidance of Carl Wamser at Portland State University. His research is titled “Analysis of Various Porphyrins in CO₂ Reduction and Future Fuel Applications.” Ha is majoring in chemical engineering at Princeton University.

Christina Trinh Ho graduated from Southport High School, in Indianapolis. She conducted research under the mentorship of Deborah Nichols at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis titled “Investigating the Long-Term Effectiveness of Soil-Lead Remediation at a Superfund Site in Marion County, Indianapolis, Ind.” She is majoring in prepharmacy at IUPUI.

Van Huynh is a graduate of Oakland High School, in California. She conducted research titled “Removal of Bisphenol A (BPA) with Chitosan after Oxidation by Polyphenol Oxidase (PPO) from Potato” under the guidance of Monika Sommerhalter at California State University, East Bay, in Hayward. She is majoring in biochemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Fatima Jalloh is a graduate of Abraham Lincoln High School, in Des Moines. Jalloh conducted research titled “Solar Cells” under the mentorship of Patrick Dilsaver at Iowa State University, in Ames. Jalloh is majoring in biochemistry at Iowa State.

Jason Jones graduated from Lewisville High School, in Richburg, S.C. He conducted research under the direction of James Hanna at Winthrop University, in Rock Hill, S.C., titled “Synthesis of Tetrahydroxybiphenyls and Their Evaluation as Amyloid-β Aggregation Inhibitors.” He is majoring in chemical engineering at Spartanburg Methodist College, in South Carolina.

Su-Hwan Paul Lee is a graduate of Oak Grove High School, in Hattiesburg, Miss. He conducted research titled “Electrochemical Synthesis of Cu_xSe Semiconductive Nanocrystal Films” under the direction of Wujian Miao at the University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg. Lee is majoring in chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of Mississippi, in Oxford.

Marchelle Meza graduated from Junipero Serra High School, in San Diego. At Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, Calif., she conducted research under the mentorship of Pedro Serrano and Michael Geralt. Her research is titled “Cloning, Expression & Purification of Three Domains of the Protein RBM39 for NMR Studies.” She is majoring in biochemistry at the University of California, Berkeley.

Fernanda Perez is a graduate of the Alliance Marc & Eva Stern Math & Science School, in Los Angeles. Under the mentorship of Krishna Foster at California State University, Los Angeles, she conducted research titled “Reducing Error in Nitrogen Dioxide Concentration Analysis for Educational Laboratories.” She is majoring in biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego.

Gonteria Robinson is a graduate of James Madison High School, in Houston. She conducted research at Baylor College of Medicine, in Houston, under the guidance of Oluwatoyin Ajibola Asojo. Her research is titled “Structure-Based Drug Discovery.” She is majoring in biochemistry at Texas State University, San Marcos.

Monet Schultz graduated from George Washington Carver High School for the Sciences, in Springfield Gardens, N.J. Under the guidance of Alison Hyslop at St. John’s University, in Queens, N.Y., Schultz conducted research titled “Synthesis and Characterization of Metallated Imidazole Porphyrins.” Schultz is majoring in chemistry at Binghamton University, SUNY.

Cheyenne Silva is a graduate of John Marshall High School, in San Antonio. She conducted research at the University of Texas, San Antonio, under the mentorship of Kelly Nash. Her research is titled “In Situ Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles in Human Hair via Ultraviolet Photo Reduction.” She is majoring in biochemistry at the university.

Sarah Stroud graduated from James Whitcomb Riley High School, in South Bend, Ind. She conducted research at the University of Notre Dame, in Indiana, under the mentorship of Bradley Smith. Her research is titled “A Hybrid Optical Detection Method for Anions.” She is majoring in chemical engineering at Trine University in Angola, Ind.

Malik Sylla graduated from George Washington Carver High School of Engineering & Science, in Philadelphia. Sylla conducted research titled “Method Development and Validation for the Analysis of Fentanyl, Acetyl Fentanyl, and Benzyl Fentanyl in Urine and Serum” under the mentorship of Mandi Mohr at the Center for Forensic Science Research & Education, in Willow Grove, Pa. Sylla is majoring in biochemistry at Albright College in Reading, Pa.

Ricardo Valdés is a graduate of Radians High School, in Cayey, P.R. At the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, Valdés conducted research under the guidance of Carlos Cabrera. His research is titled “Optimizing Platinum Nanoparticles Synthesis for Ammonia Oxidation.” He is majoring in chemistry at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Amy Vang graduated from Golden Valley High School, in Merced, Calif. She conducted research on “The Study of Anti-Inflammatory Proteins” at the University of California, Merced, under the mentorship of Andy LiWang. She is majoring in biochemistry at the university.

Samantha Ward graduated from Borah High School, in Boise, Idaho. She conducted research titled “Utilizing Gold Nanoparticles for Colorimetric DNA Sensing” under the guidance of Jeunghoon Lee at Boise State University, in Idaho. She is majoring in biochemistry at Carroll College in Helena, Mont.

William Wey is a graduate of Westview High School, in San Diego. He conducted research at Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, Calif., under the guidance of Hyun Yong Jin. His research is titled “NF-ĸB Pathways as Therapeutic Targets for miR-17~92 Driven Lymphoma.” He is majoring in biochemistry at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

ASHLAND SCHOLARS

Ashland is a global company that provides specialty chemicals, technologies, and expertise to customers worldwide.

Iyanuoluwa Ahmed is a graduate of Parkville High School, in Maryland. Ahmed conducted research under the mentorship of Victoria Volkis at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, in Princess Anne, titled “Reversible Carbon Dioxide Capturing Using Biocompatible Polymeric Blends.” Ahmed is majoring in biochemistry at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Jordan Childs graduated from Pocatello High School, in Idaho. Under the guidance of Todd Davis at Idaho State University, in Pocatello, Childs conducted research titled “Improving Methods for the Preparation of α-Fluoroketones.” He is majoring in chemistry and pharmacy at Portland State University in Oregon.

BAYER SCHOLARS

The Bayer USA Foundation has been a major donor to Project SEED and a major contributor to the Project SEED endowment.

Mikayla Becker graduated from Maumee High School, in Ohio. She conducted research at the University of Toledo, in Ohio, under the guidance of Kedar Baryal. Her project is titled “Synthesis of the S-linked Trisaccharide Subunit of Urdamycin A.” She is majoring in pharmaceutical sciences at the university.

Ji Whae Choi is a graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology, in Alexandria, Va. Choi conducted research titled “Synthesis of CMP-9-fluoro-NeuAc” under the mentorship of Justine Vionnet at the Food & Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation & Research, in Bethesda, Md. Choi is majoring in chemistry and chemical biology at Cornell University.

FOSBINDER SCHOLARS

Vy Le graduated from Madison High School, in Portland, Ore. Under the mentorship of Angela Hoffman at the University of Portland, Le conducted research titled “Extraction, Isolation, and Biological Activity of Chemicals in Betel Leaf.” She is majoring in biochemistry at the university.

The estate of Elizabeth Ernst Fosbinder, wife of late ACS member Russell J. Fosbinder, has provided an endowment for college scholarships for Project SEED graduates.

Linhchi Nguyen graduated from Walter Johnson High School, in Bethesda, Md. She conducted research at the Library of Congress under the mentorship of Eric Breitung and Fenella France. Nguyen’s research is titled “Evaluation of Degraded and Non-Degraded Tape: Assessment of a Non-Destructive Identification System and Tape Surface Differences.” Nguyen is majoring in chemistry at Princeton University.

Seth Reasoner graduated from a home school in Brownsburg, Ind. He conducted research under the mentorship of Mark LaPack at Eli Lilly & Co., in Indianapolis. His research is titled “Measuring Henry’s Law and Gas-Liquid Mass Transport Parameters.” He is majoring in chemistry at Berea College, in Kentucky.

ULLYOT SCHOLAR

Glenn E. 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. His wife, Barbara, had a management career at ACS.

Sonali Mali graduated from Avon High School, in Indiana. Under the guidance of Rajesh Sardar at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Mali conducted research titled “Label-Free MicroRNA Detection Using Oligonucleotide Functionalized Gold Nanoprisms as Sensing Platform.” Mali is majoring in biochemistry at Indiana University, Bloomington.