Project SEED: Alfred & Isabel Bader Scholars

Alfred Bader is one of the founders of Aldrich Chemical, 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.

Matthew Avila is a graduate of Pocatello Senior High School, in Idaho. Through the Project SEED program, Avila worked under the direction of Todd A. Davis of Idaho State University, Pocatello. His research project was on “α-Chlorination of Ketones Mediated by Thiourea & p-Toluenes­ulfonic Acid.” Avila is now majoring in chemistry at Idaho State.

Brian Chiou graduated from East Lansing High School, in Michigan. He worked under the supervision of Mikhail Y. Redko of Michigan State University, East Lansing, on research titled “Synthesis of Natural Carbohydrates & Proteins.” He is majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology at Lansing Community College.

Niecia Flikweert graduated from the Potter’s House, in Grand Rapids, Mich. Under the direction of Douglas Vander Griend at Calvin College, in Grand Rapids, Flikweert worked on research titled “Characterizing the Interaction between G-quadruplex DNA & Insulin.” She is majoring in biochemistry at Calvin College.

Nikia Gloston is a graduate of Washington-Marrion Magnet High School, in Lake Charles, La. At McNeese State University, in Lake Charles, Gloston worked under Omar Christian on research titled “The Isolation of Coumarins from C. rosea.” He attends the University of Louisiana, in Lafayette, where he is majoring in chemical engineering and biochemistry.

Nicholas Hoover graduated from Altoona Area High School, in Pennsylvania. He worked under the supervision of Richard C. Bell at Pennsylvania State University, Altoona, on research titled “Exploring Pore Growth in the Anodization of Aluminum for Nanowire Synthesis.” He is majoring in chemical engineering at Penn State’s University Park campus.

Si Li graduated from Central High School, in Philadelphia. At the Forensics Mentors Institute, in Willow Grove, Pa., Li worked under G. John DiGregorio on research titled “Optimization of Cocaine Extraction from U.S. Currency.” Li is a chemistry major at the University of the Sciences, in Philadelphia.

Jessica Lopez is a graduate of North Bergen High School, in New Jersey. She worked under the mentorship of Keun Hyuk (Ken) Ahn at New Jersey Institute of Technology, in Newark, on research titled “Studying Magnetic Phase Transition with Computers—Using Model & Monte Carlo Simulations.” She is majoring in chemical engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology, in Hoboken, N.J.

Alyssa Morgan is a graduate of Middle College High School, in Durham, N.C. At the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Morgan worked under the supervision of Christopher J. Fecko on research titled “The Quantification of Strand Cleavage in DNA Stained with Hoechst 33342.” She is majoring in chemistry at UNC Chapel Hill.

Kwame Newton graduated from University High School of Indiana, in Carmel. He worked under the mentorship of Gregory D. Smith of the Indianapolis Museum of Art’s Conservation Science Laboratory on research titled “Use of Hydrofluoric Acid as an Aid to Matte Paint Binder Analysis by FTIR.” He is a chemistry major at DePauw University, in Greencastle, Ind.

Erika Portero graduated from Union City High School, in New Jersey. At Rutgers University, Piscataway, N.J., she worked under the supervision of Yao Ping Lu on research titled “Mechanisms of Decreased Tissue Fat by Caffeine & Exercise To Prevent Skin Cancer.” Portero is majoring in chemistry at Drew University, in Madison, N.J.

Emma Russo is also a graduate of Union City High. She worked under the direction of A. James Link of Princeton University on research titled “CapB: A Protein Involved in Lasso Peptide Antibiotic Biosynthesis.” She is majoring in chemistry at Brown University.

Paola Severino also graduated from Union City High. At Princeton University, Severino worked under A. James Link’s mentorship on research titled “Engineering High Affinity Peptide Cancer Therapeutics.” Severino is majoring in chemical engineering at Yale University.

Sheeniza Shah graduated from George Washington Carver High School for the Sciences, in New York City. At St. John’s University, in New York City, Shah worked under the direction of Alison G. Hyslop on research titled “Synthesis of Zinc(II) Benzyl-Imidazolium-Porphyrin with Palladium.” Shah is majoring in chemical engineering at Lawrence University, in Appleton, Wis.

Kervin Smith graduated from New Brunswick High School, in New Jersey. He worked under the supervision of Kathryn Uhrich at Rutgers University, Piscataway, on research titled “Controlled Release of Nanoscale Amphiphilic Macromolecules from Surfaces.” He is majoring in chemical engineering at Rutgers, New Brunswick.

Cheyenne Steward graduated from Northern High School, in Durham, N.C. She worked under the direction of Aaron Young at UNC Chapel Hill on research titled “Identification of Oxidized & Reduced Ions from the Strong Bacterial Mutagen.” She is majoring in chemistry at Columbia University.

Sara Torres is a graduate of Science Park High School, in Newark, N.J. She worked under the supervision of Daniel Seidel at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, on research titled “Single Molecule Protein Conformations.” She is majoring in biochemistry at Yale University.

Adam Wirth graduated from Ridge View High School, in Columbia, S.C. He worked under the supervision of Chuanbing Tang of the University of South Carolina, Columbia, on research titled “Synthesis of Green Polymers from Gum Rosin.” He is majoring in chemistry at Wofford College, in Spartanburg, S.C.

Kathy Wong is a graduate of Lowell High School, in San Francisco. She worked under the mentorship of Shirin Usmani at San Francisco State University on research titled “SEM, XRD Characterization of Low-Temperature Synthesis of Titanium Dioxide Films.” She is majoring in biochemistry at the University of California, Berkeley.

Xe Xiong graduated from Amos Alonzo Stagg High School, in Stockton, Calif. At the University of the Pacific, in Stockton, Xiong conducted research under the supervision of Roshanak Rahimian and Jianhua Ren titled “Synthesis of Cysteine-Poly­glycine Peptides with Rink Amide Resin.” Xiong attends the University of California, Davis, and is majoring in biochemistry.

Xiaomin Zhou is a graduate of Lincoln College Preparatory Academy, in Kansas City, Mo. She conducted research at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, under the direction of James R. Durig. Zhou’s research is titled “Structure & IR Spectroscopy of Small Molecules.” She is majoring in chemistry at the University of Kansas, Lawrence.