{"id":127972,"date":"2020-10-01T14:45:15","date_gmt":"2020-10-02T00:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=127972"},"modified":"2020-10-01T14:45:15","modified_gmt":"2020-10-02T00:45:15","slug":"arcs-foundation-scholars-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2020\/10\/01\/arcs-foundation-scholars-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"<abbr title=\"University of Hawaii\">UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa scholars awarded <abbr title=\"Achievement Rewards for College Scientists\">ARCS<\/abbr> Foundation grants for research"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 3<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><figure id=\"attachment_127800\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-127800\" style=\"width: 676px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/manoa-arcs-scholars-2020.jpg\" alt=\"2020 arc scholars\" width=\"676\" height=\"381\" class=\"size-full wp-image-127800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/manoa-arcs-scholars-2020.jpg 676w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/manoa-arcs-scholars-2020-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/manoa-arcs-scholars-2020-130x73.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-127800\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Top for from left: Douglas Ellman, Branden Minei, Luke Campillo, Allexa Dow; Middle row from left: Marisa McDonald, Ashley McGuigan, John Runburg, Michael Honda, Priscilla Seabourn, Lauren Ching; Bottom row from left: Aileen Li, Brien Haun, Anamica Bedi de Silva, Trista McKenzie, Gagandeep Anand, Travis Berger<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Sixteen <a href=\"https:\/\/manoa.hawaii.edu\/\">University of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa<\/a> doctoral candidates have been awarded $5,000 Scholar Awards from the <a href=\"https:\/\/honolulu.arcsfoundation.org\/\"><abbr title=\"Achievement Rewards for College Scientists\">ARCS<\/abbr> Foundation&#8211;Honolulu Chapter<\/a>. The 2020 awards were made in six <abbr title=\"University of Hawaii\">UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa units.<\/p>\n<p><abbr>ARCS<\/abbr> Foundation works to advance science in America by providing unrestricted awards to outstanding <abbr title=\"United States\">U.S.<\/abbr> graduate students in <abbr title=\"science, technology, engineering and mathematics\">STEM<\/abbr> fields. The chapter has provided more than $2 million to <abbr>UH<\/abbr> graduate students since 1974.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This award has not only provided monetary support for my research, but it shows that there\u2019s recognition for my work outside of my immediate sphere, and that\u2019s very meaningful,&rdquo; says <abbr>ARCS<\/abbr> Scholar Trista A. McKenzie.<\/p>\n<p>McKenzie and her award donor are featured in the Honolulu Chapter\u2019s first Meet-the-Scholar video, which was created after COVID-19 preempted the annual scholar presentations.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/m_Ml2TFgbK0\">View McKenzie\u2019s video on YouTube<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>College of Engineering scholars<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Douglas Ellman<\/strong> received the Bretzlaff Foundation Award in Engineering. He uses optimization and machine learning to study how distributed energy resources, such as solar batteries, electric vehicles and smart appliances, can be used to improve the operation of the electric grid.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brenden M. Minei<\/strong> received the Frederick M. Kresser Award in Engineering. He developed a novel ceramic-based Nano-Paste that can be both 3D printed and molded to optimize and develop ceramic nanocomposite parts with armor as well as space structure and optical applications.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/honolulu.arcsfoundation.org\/scholars\/current-scholars-0\">Read more about the College of Engineering scholars.<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>College of Natural Sciences scholars<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Luke Campillo<\/strong> received the Sarah Ann Martin Award in Natural Sciences. He sequences the <abbr title=\"Deoxyribonucleic Acid\">DNA<\/abbr> Hawaiian birds to study the impact of limited contact with other populations and competition for limited resources on speciation on island archipelagos.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Allexa Dow<\/strong> received the Ellen M. Koenig <abbr>ARCS<\/abbr> Award. She studies mechanisms employed by the deadly Mycobacterium tuberculosis pathogen to survive severe zinc depletion in the host, a necessary step for disease transmission.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Marisa S. McDonald<\/strong> received the Maybelle Roth <abbr>ARCS<\/abbr> Award in Conservation Biology. She is working to understand vision in larval mantis shrimp, focusing on ultraviolet vision function and use.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ashley A. McGuigan<\/strong> received the <abbr>ARCS<\/abbr> Honolulu Award. She explores the connection between agroforest biodiversity and dietary nutrition in Fiji and the ways agroforestry helps people recover from major cyclone disturbances.<\/p>\n<p><strong>John &ldquo;Jack&rdquo; Runburg<\/strong> received the Sarah Ann Martin Award in Natural Sciences. He uses theoretical models and devises other methods to learn more about dark matter, the most common, but invisible, form of matter in the universe.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/honolulu.arcsfoundation.org\/scholars\/current-scholars-0\">Read more about the College of Natural Sciences scholars.<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources scholars<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Michael David Honda<\/strong> received the Kai Bowden <abbr>ARCS<\/abbr> Award. He is working to determine the mechanism of iron uptake in giant leucaena, which is used as a nutritious fodder-legume for farm animals.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Priscilla S. Seabourn<\/strong> received the Helen Jones Farrar Award. She uses <abbr>DNA<\/abbr> sequencing to characterize the microbiome and understand how environmental and ecological factors influence its diversity in <em>Aedes albopictus<\/em> mosquitoes, an insect that serves as a vector for Dengue and Chikungunya viruses, with an eye to improving strategies for disease prevention.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/honolulu.arcsfoundation.org\/scholars\/current-scholars-0\">Read more about the <abbr title=\"College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources\">CTAHR<\/abbr> scholars.<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>John A. Burns School of Medicine scholars<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Lauren Ching<\/strong> received the Koenig <abbr>ARCS<\/abbr> Award. She studies immunopathogenesis of Kawasaki disease, the leading cause of pediatric acquired heart disease in the developed world, to identify novel therapeutics that could ameliorate changes to coronary arteries.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Aileen S.W. Li<\/strong> received the Starbuck <abbr>ARCS<\/abbr> Award in Medicine. She uses in vitro model systems to understand the mechanisms of gastrulation, the foremost, crucial and sensitive stage of embryo development, and exposure to teratogens, agents that can cause birth defects.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brien Haun<\/strong> received the Ellen M. Koenig <abbr>ARCS<\/abbr> Award. He is working to hack the immune system to uncover protective responses to emerging infectious viruses.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/honolulu.arcsfoundation.org\/scholars\/current-scholars-0\">Read more about the <abbr title=\"John A. Burns School of Medicine\">JABSOM<\/abbr> scholars<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology scholars<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Anamica Bedi de Silva<\/strong> received the George and Mona Elmore <abbr>ARCS<\/abbr> Award. She works on viral immunity in microbes, developing resistant strains of a single-cell algae for experimental evolution in the laboratory to determine if there are fitness costs to viral resistance.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Trista A. McKenzie<\/strong> received the Toby Lee <abbr>ARCS<\/abbr> Award in Earth Sciences. She studies groundwater pollution and discharge dynamics using a combination of field, lab and machine-learning approaches.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/honolulu.arcsfoundation.org\/scholars\/current-scholars-0\">Read more about the <abbr title=\"School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology\">SOEST<\/abbr> scholars.<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Institute for Astronomy scholars<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Gagandeep &ldquo;Deep&rdquo; Anand<\/strong> received the <abbr>ARCS<\/abbr> Honolulu Award. He is determining accurate distances to nearby galaxies using Hubble Space Telescope imaging to investigate the distribution of matter and evolution of galaxy groups and clusters.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Travis A. Berger<\/strong> received the Columbia Communications Award in Astronomy. He studies planet formation and evolution using stellar distances as measured by the Gaia space observatory of stars and exoplanets observed by the Kepler space telescope.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/honolulu.arcsfoundation.org\/scholars\/current-scholars-0\">Read more about the <abbr title=\"Institute for Astronomy\">IfA<\/abbr> scholars.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sixteen <abbr title=\"science, technology, engineering and mathematics\">STEM<\/abbr> doctoral candidates received a $5,000 grant to support travel, computer research equipment and educational expenses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[179,308,212,31,572,92,660,9],"class_list":["post-127972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-college-of-engineering","tag-college-of-natural-sciences","tag-college-of-tropical-agriculture-and-human-resilience","tag-john-a-burns-school-of-medicine","tag-scholarship","tag-school-of-ocean-and-earth-science-and-technology","tag-student-recognition","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127972"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127972\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":128114,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127972\/revisions\/128114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}