A&S Student News

Spring 2020

Pagotti & Marafiotti Develop Attendance App

Matheus Pagotti (above right) and Pedro Marafiotti (above left), both Texas Tech University seniors, have developed an easy-to-use—and affordable—attendance-taking app. Their brainchild, CritiColl, is one of eight startup companies accepted this spring into the 2020 Texas Tech Accelerator program. Already, CritiColl is making a difference in the courses that have adopted it. Follow this link for the complete story of CritiColl.

Download Backgrounds for Video Apps

Download these College of Arts & Sciences backgrounds, suitable for video applications such as Zoom, to look like—and feel like—you're already back on campus!

Eric Bui Wins Fulbright-Mitacs Fellowship

Eric Bui, a Texas Tech University biochemistry major, is among the first to win a Fulbright-Mitacs Globalink scholarship. Bui was looking forward to spending summer 2020 in Canada, where he was planning to research drug development for novel anti-cancer therapies at the University of British Columbia. But in its inaugural year, the program was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bui and the other 2020 grantees will be offered an alternative date to serve their scholarship. Follow this link for the complete story about Eric Bui.

Kuzmack Named 2020 Truman Scholar

Stephanie Kuzmack, a senior sociology major from Española, N.M., has won a fellowship from the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, making her one of its 2020 Truman Scholars. Out of 773 applicants, representing 316 colleges and universities, Kuzmack was one of only 62 students selected for the prestigious scholarship. She is the second Texas Tech University student to win a Truman Scholarship. The Harry S. Truman Scholarship is the premier graduate fellowship in the United States for those pursuing careers as public service leaders. Follow this link for the complete story about Stephanie Kuzmack.

Vincent Publishes Physics Research

Trey Vincent, a senior physics major and undergraduate research assistant, and his research mentor, Horn Professor Stefan Estreicher, have been working to solve a troublesome problem in silicon-based electronics. Their findings recently were published as an Editor's Pick article in the peer-reviewed Journal of Applied Physics. Follow this link for the complete story about Trey Vincent's undergraduate research.

Harbin Wins Academic Citizenship-STEM Award

Heather Harbin, a senior physics major with a focus in astrophysics, has won the Student Academic Citizenship Award-STEM from the Texas Tech Parents Association. The San Antonio native was nominated for the award by Texas Tech University astrophysicist Alessandra Corsi for demonstrating academic excellence and outstanding public service leadership in the field of astronomy. As an undergraduate researcher, Harbin conducts gravitational wave follow-up in the radio frequency, generating images of radio sources using data from the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA). During summer 2019, she was one of only two chosen internationally to serve a 10-week internship in the National and International Nontraditional Exchange (NINE) program at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Charlottesville, Va. Follow this link for the complete story of Heather Harbin's award.

Corcoran Wins Academic Citizenship Award

Michelle Corcoran, a philosophy major who graduated in December 2019, has won the Student Academic Citizenship Award from the Texas Tech Parents Association. The San Diego, Calif., native was nominated for the award by Texas Tech University philosopher Jeremy Schwartz for demonstrating academic excellence and outstanding public service leadership in the field of philosophy. Corcoran was instrumental in resurrecting TTU's Undergraduate Philosophy Club and, as its president, worked closely with the executive secretary of Phi Sigma Tau to reactivate Phi Sigma Tau's Texas Tech chapter. Phi Sigma Tau is an international honor society for philosophers, and its re-establishment is meant to encourage student involvement. Follow this link for the complete story of Michelle Corcoran's award.

Loya Photo Wins Hearts at C&EN

Daniel Loya, a graduate student and member of Kristin Hutchins' research group in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, took the above photo, which was featured in Chemical & Engineering News, Chemistry in Pictures. Loya was synthesizing a new monometer in the lab when the oil residue formed into a heart shape. The photo was published in honor of St. Valentine's Day.

Lopez on Team That Published Research

Andrea J. Lopez, a biochemistry undergraduate in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, is on a research team whose project, "In vitro detection of porphyrin-producing wound bacteria with real-time fluorescence imaging," was published online Feb. 26, 2020, in the journal Future Medicine. Lopez conducts research with Allie Smith in the Honors College; and she was mentored by Anthony Cozzolino, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, through Mentor Tech. The entire research team is credited thusly: (Laura M Jones, Danielle Dunham, Monique Y Rennie, Jeffrey Kirman, Andrea J Lopez, Klara C Keim, William Little, Andre Gomez, Jessica Bourke, Herman Ng, Ralph S DaCosta & Allie Clinton Smith).

Biochemistry Society Entry is a Hit at CANstruction

Members of the Biochemistry Society build their entry during Texas Tech Student Involvement's second annual CANstruction competition. Photo courtesy Daily Toreador/Autumn Bippert

The Biochemistry Society is a first-place winner in the Texas Tech Student Involvement CANstruction Competition. The group took first place in the people's choice award in the student organization category buy using 118 cans from their canned-food drive to make a periodic table. The event took place Feb. 23, 2020, in the Red Raider Ballroom at the Student Union. Paola Rivera, a junior biochemistry major from Guadalajara, Mexico, and president of the Biochemistry Society, told the Daily Toreador that the idea to design and built a periodic table out of 118 cans—the same as the number of elements—seemed like "a pretty doable and cool and sciencey" project. The Biochemistry Society is in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry.

Masoumzadeh Wins Travel Stipend

Elahe (Lili) Masoumzadeh, a third-year graduate student and member of Michael Latham's research group in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, received an ENC Student Travel Award to attend the 61st Experimental Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Conference in Baltimore March 8-13, 2020.

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