WISE awards scholarships at inaugural conference

By Alec Jennings
University News Service
May 5, 2010

Scholarships and poster session prizes were awarded at the inaugural conference for Women in Science and Engineering (WISE), held April 30 in the LBJ Student Center.

Students, faculty and alumni participated in the one-day event, featuring approximately 35 scientific presentations by undergraduate, master's and doctoral students in the College of Science. Scholarships totaled $4,000 and $600 in poster prizes were awarded.

WISE scholarship recipients were:

  • Danielle Faurie, Archer City, Women's Giving Circle, WISE Scholarship
  • Nirmala Karunarathna, Polgahawela, Sri Lanka, Women's Giving Circle, WISE Scholarship
  • Jacqueline Ma, San Jose, Calif., Women's Giving Circle, WISE Scholarship
  • Elizabeth Oyeyipo, Lagos, Nigeria, Southwest Research Institute, Women in Science and Engineering Scholarship.

Student poster session winners were:

  • Jennifer Griffin, Katy, first place: "Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase mediates the ability of retinol to inhibit colon cancer cell invasion in vitro," department of family and consumer sciences, nutrition and foods program.
  • Kevyn Hartgrove, Dripping Springs, second place: "Functional characterization of SAUR proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana," department of biology.
  • Jacqueline Ma, San Jose, Calif., third place: "Sperm priming, 11-ketotestosterone, and male mate preference in Poecilia Mexicana," department of biology.

Texas State alumnus and a vice president at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Susan Crumrine provided the conference keynote address.

"Her talk at our event surpassed my expectations," said Dana Garcia, professor of biology. "She was gracious, recognizing other College of Science alumnae and their accomplishments. She shared some of her reminiscences about her time at Texas State, and she gave the students meaningful advice about working hard in college and what to expect in today's job market."

The conference also linked to an effort made in conjunction with annual giving to raise funds for the Women in Science Initiative. The effort resulted in the generation of $2,000 to support scholarships for women majoring in science.

"The conference had several goals," said Garcia. "One was to reconnect with alumni and encourage them to think about the power of philanthropy."

The funds generated, added with funds generated by the Women's Giving Circle combined to raise approximately $15,000 which was used to provide the awards given at the conference.

Sponsors of the event included the College of Science, the Ingram School of Engineering, the department of chemistry and biochemistry, Rothe Development, Inc., Southwest Research Institute, Women's Giving Circle, Women in Science Initiative and Bio-Link Scientific.

For more information about this event, please contact the College of Science at (512) 245-2119 or email collegeofscience@txstate.edu.