Jennifer Robinson, a senior in computer science at North Carolina State University received the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.
Throughout her undergraduate years in the Department of Computer Science at NC State, Robison has conducted research on intelligent tutoring systems that explores affect expression, a central problem in affective computing and intelligent virtual agents. In collaboration with her colleagues, Robison designed and conducted a study to investigate parallel and reactive empathy in intelligent virtual agents. She presented the results of her work in two conference papers, one of which was at the International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems, and another at the International Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems.
…
Robison plans to pursue her Ph.D in computer science at NC State beginning in the fall.
She gives much credit for her success to Dr. James Lester, associate professor of computer science, who has served as her undergraduate research advisor and mentor. Lester offers his congratulations to Robison saying, “It is a great pleasure working with Jen, who is a truly outstanding student. Her background in artificial intelligence and cognitive science has prepared her well for research in intelligent tutoring systems. We’re very excited about continuing our collaboration when she joins the Ph.D. program in the fall.”
Hawkeye swimmer Andrej Lenert is no stranger to athletic or academic awards, but this past week saw him garner a National Science Foundation Fellowship.
…
Lenert is graduating next month as a mechanical engineering major at the top of his class. Just for good measure, he has a concentration on renewable forms of energy and a minor in mathematics. Since committing to the Iowa swimming team in 2004, the Ontario, Canada, native has spent the last four years accepting award after award, both in the water and in the classroom. To name a few, he has already been named to the UI’s Dean’s List and academic all-Big Ten, where he was one of only five Big Ten swimmers to hold a grade point average of 4.0 or better. Along with these honors, he is also Rhodes Dunlap Collegiate Scholar and earned the Valedictorian Scholarship and the Iowa Scholars Award.
…
“Swimming gives so much balance and great chance to get away from school for awhile,” Lenert explained. “It’s a stress-free environment for me and requires a whole different kind of work ethic that is refreshing. I actually had to miss the Canadian Olympic trials while making some graduate school visits, but I was sure to take a look at the pools and can hopefully become a graduate assistant coach wherever I end up.”
Rose Faghih Awarded NSF Graduate Fellowship
Rose has participated in two research experiences funded by NSF, one at Drexel University and another at the University of Maryland. In her research experience at the University of Maryland, she worked under the supervision of Professor Thomas Antonsen, Professor Ed Ott, and Professor Michelle Girvan. The results of this research have been submitted for publication to Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science. The researchers studied the driven Kuramoto model, which describes a large population of weakly coupled oscillators, e.g., the entrainment of oscillatory neurons in the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). SCN controls the circadian rhythm in the human body, and it is possible to synchronize the SCN oscillators using light as a forcing function. Different circadian disorders can be investigated by adding a specific drive to the Kuramoto model, and performing mathematical analysis and simulations for each case to find the entrainment conditions for the oscillators in the SCN.
For her research proposal, Professor Antonsen advised Rose on the forcing functions that can be investigated to cure different circadian sleep disorders. Rose’s research proposal was to construct a device that obtains the power spectrum of the oscillators in the SCN using a sensor and performs frequency time analysis, and generates light with a certain signal drive intensity and frequency to entrain the oscillators and provide a regular sleep pattern.
NSF Fellowship: Stephanie Dolrenry Environment and Resources PhD
The focus of Stephanie’s NSF research will be on the human-and-cattle-dominated landscapes of Maasailand, Kenya where African lions (Panthera leo) and spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) are in steep decline. These carnivores kill the livestock Maasai people depend on for food, money, and social status. Hyena attacks on livestock particularly ignite people’s hatred and result in retributive killings of threatened carnivores such as lions. She will analyze how livestock depredation influences retaliatory poisoning and the subsequent effect on lion and spotted hyena populations.
The aims of her research are threefold: 1) to investigate the causes and impact of retaliatory poisoning on lions, hyenas, and other wildlife, 2) to understand the behavioral ecology of lions and hyenas, within human-dominated landscapes, 3) to measure risk and vulnerability of Maasai homesteads to carnivore depredation. Her methods combine zoological and social science approaches: GPS collars and remotely triggered cameras; social surveys of husbandry practices; and participatory methods for building co-management with the Maasai. By predicting and understanding carnivore behaviors and vulnerability around Maasai homesteads, people can begin to mitigate the conflicts which occur among livestock and predators. Her ultimate goal is to find solutions to promote coexistence between pastoral people and carnivores
Stephanie applied for NSF-GRFP award in 2006 and received Honorable Mention.
Fellowship announcements have been sent to applicants of the NSF graduate research fellowship, NDSEG fellowship and SMART fellowship programs.
Recent Comments