Eleven UC Santa Cruz graduate students have received scholarships worth a total of $110,000 from the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation for the 2016-17 academic year. Since 1976, the ARCS Foundation's Northern California Chapter has given more than $2 million in scholarships to UCSC students.
This year's ARCS scholars will be recognized at the ARCS Scholar Awards Celebration in San Francisco on November 10.
The ARCS Foundation, founded in 1958, is a national organization that provides scholarships and fellowships for the country's most promising science, medical, and engineering students. This year's ARCS scholars at UCSC represent the Science Communication Program and the Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics; Earth and Planetary Sciences; Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Mathematics; Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology; Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology; and Physics. The scholars and their interests are as follows:
Caleb Bryce is a graduate student in ecology and evolutionary biology with research interests in animal behavioral ecology and field physiology. His research on large carnivores such as wolves and pumas addresses how physiology drives their behavior and ecological interactions.
Emma Hiolski has a Ph.D. in environmental toxicology and is currently a graduate student in science communication. She wants to help increase science literacy and reach diverse audiences.
Zachary Jennings is a Ph.D. student in astronomy and astrophysics. His research focuses on extragalactic globular cluster systems, and he is also interested in modern machine learning and statistical techniques.
Zeka Kuspa, a graduate student in microbiology and environmental toxicology, is studying the effects of lead exposure on the endangered California condor.
Claire Masteller, a Ph.D. candidate in Earth and planetary sciences, is studying sediment transport in rivers.
Danquynh Nguyen is a graduate student in mathematics with research interests in vertex operator algebra theory, a mathematical framework that is important in theoretical physics.
Anna Rosen, a Ph.D. student in astronomy and astrophysics, is studying the formation of massive stars and how their formation affects their environment.
Leah Schwiesow is a graduate student in molecular, cell and developmental biology. She is studying the expression of virulence factors in the bacterial pathogen Yersinia pseudotuberculosis.
Laurel Stephenson-Haskins is a graduate student in physics whose research addresses problems in theoretical particle physics and cosmology.
Jennifer Teschler, a graduate student in microbiology and environmental toxicology, is studying the bacteria that cause cholera. Her research focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying virulence and environmental survival in the cholera pathogen.
Aylin Woodward is a graduate student in science communication with a background in paleoanthropology.
