News - Spring 2016
Donations for Ecuador
May 03, 2016
About two weeks ago, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Ecuador, killing almost 300 people. Upon hearing of this news, Maria Monsalve, with the help of Cesar Velez-Penaloza and, our very own, Adam Stambouli, organized a donation drive that ended just yesterday. The drive focused on collecting insect repellent and powdered milk. To read more about their efforts for outreach, click here.
Team VESSEL at SURA!
April 26, 2016
Team VESSEL will be presenting at the 2016 Stanford Research Conference. SURA hosts a forum where undergraduates from all over the country can present their work, connect with other researchers, and hear from distinguished leaders in the research community, including nobel prize winners Dr. Douglas Osheroff and Dr. Paul Berg. Students who share their findings accordingly will receive valuable feedback from the students, alumni, and faculty members in attendance. The conference will facilitate the exchange of information that is necessary for intellectual advancement in today’s highly interconnected society. To learn more about this amazing opportunity click here.
Congratulations Dr. Duraiswami!
April 26, 2016
Dr. Duraiswami, mentor to Team MUSIC,received one of the 2016 University of Maryland System Board of Regents Faculty Awards. He won this award in the scholarship, research and creative activity category. This is the highest honor that a faculty member can receive. He hope that him receiving this award will inspire more students to take an interest in audio research. To read more about this award and its recipients, click here.
Library Award Recipients
April 19, 2016
Last night, the Library Award was awarded to three phenomenal sophomore teams. These three teams were chosen out of the preliminary 12 teams. After presenting their research to a panel, one was chosen to win $2000 to fund their research. Congratulations Team VIRUS! We also want to congratulate Team BioCHIPS and Team BREATHE for being finalists for this award! In addition, good luck to these teams and the other 9 teams as they embark on their research journeys!
Thesis Conference on Friday!
April 12, 2016
The 17th Annual Gemstone Honors Program Thesis Conference is this Friday, April 15, 2016,starting at 1:30PM! We are so excited to invite friends, family, experts to see all that our senior teams have accomplished in their undergraduate research careers. Please join us in the Riggs Alumni Center in just three short days!
For directions and parking information, click here.
To access the Thesis Conference 2016 Program, click here.
Scholarships All Around
April 5, 2016
For the second year in a row, four University of Maryland Students have been named Goldwater Scholars. This foundation and scholarship has been designed to promote advancement of students into careers of science, engineering and mathematics. Of these four scholars is our very own, Adam Berger, a junior on Team Vessel. Congratulations Adam and congratulations to the other three UMD Goldwater Scholars as well! Click here to read more about each of their stories and aspirations.
In adition, Arjun Adapa, a senior on Team JUDGMENT, was just awarded the 2016-2017 Fulbright US Student Grant to conduct research in the Netherlands. He will be studying "Nanoparticle-mediated siRNA Targeting of BACE1 for Subduing Alzheimer's Neuropathology." He will be advised by Dr. Inge Zuhorn of the University of Groningen Medical Center. Congratulations Arjun!
Gemstone Senior Andrea Bajcsy awarded NSF Graduate Fellowship
March 24, 2016
Congratulations to one of our graduating students, Andrea Bajcsy, for being awarded the prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowships. The fellowship was awarded to only 2000 of the total 17,000 applications, and is given to help passionate young researchers proceed in their scientific inquiry. Andrea has been heavily involved in research throughout her undergraduate career and will use the fellowship to pursue her pHD in Computer Science. To learn more click here
Team CLOT Mentor Dr. Kofina awarded patent!
March 24, 2016
Congratulations to Dr. Kofina, former mentor to team CLOT, for being awarded a patent for flexible batteries. Last month, Kofinas was awarded U.S. patent 9,252,456 B2 for creating batteries out of flexible solid material that is lighter and smaller- an innovative solution for creating useful devices for the medical field, such as pacemakers, insulin pumps, and cardiac defibrillator! To learn more click here
Congratulations!
March 8, 2016
Congratulations to Dr. Glasper, a former Gemstone mentor to team PANCREAS, Dr. Duraiswami, mentor to team MUSIC, and Dr. Araneda, a mentor to team DREAM for winning the Brain and Behavior Initiative's Seed Grant Award. Only five out of 13 proposals received were funded.
To learn more click here
Also, congratulations to Team NATURE for being approved for funding by the University Sustainability Fund. This fund is created to finance projects proposed by students and faculty that are designed to increase sustainability efforts on campus. To learn more click here
Check this out!
March 1, 2016
Our people in Gemstone are doing some amazing things!
Dr. Bing Hu, mentor to Team NATURE, is working on a rechargeable sodium battery that is made out of oak leaves. Read more about his research here.
Dr. Sochol, an expert to Team BioCHIPS, is working on 3D printing lab-on-a-chip microfluidic devices. 3D printing these chips is easier and more cost effective. Read more about his research here.
Robel Tesfay, a junior on Team STRIDE, recently took a trip to Ethiopia with Public Health Without Borders (PHWB)! Robel, along with other Unversity of Maryland students, spent time in Debre Berhan teaching kids and adults about food safety and nutrition. Click here to read more about his experiences and the goals of the organization.
Congratulations Class of 2020!
February, 24, 2016
We extend a very warm welcome to our newest students! Congratulations on your acceptancce to the University of Maryland, the Honors College and the Gemstone Program. We cannot wait to meet you and work with you for the next four years. Visit our Admitted Students page to find out how to get involved!
