Conference Award

Rose Hulsey-Vincent

Rose Hulsey-Vincent is a third-year Biology Ph.D. student researching the neural basis of birdsong in the Gardner Lab. Rose’s work explores how songbirds’ brains control what syllable the bird will sing, and what order the bird sings its syllables to further our understanding of how brains plan and coordinate flexible motor sequences, such as speech. As WGS Outreach Co-Chair, she organizes and participates in programs to promote gender inclusivity in STEM, such as Girl Science Adventures, Meet a Scientist, and Valley Catholic High School’s Women in STEM Day. She plans to expand these outreach efforts to collaborate with the Eugene Public Library and local high schools. She is grateful to use the WGS Graduate Conference Award to travel to the Society for Neuroscience’s annual meeting, where she will learn more about outreach strategies and birdsong neuroscience.

Victoria Benson

Victoria Benson is a third year PhD candidate studying the interactions between glacial ice and freshwater lakes in southeast Alaska. She is interested in how the glacier impacts freshwater characteristics and, in turn, how the presence of freshwater affects glacial melt and retreat. During the summer of 2023, she collected temperature, turbidity, and depth measurements at two proglacial Alaskan lakes and is excited to present her research at the annual Northwest Glaciology Meeting in October, hosted by University of Fairbanks.

Nicolette Molina

I am a fifth-year Ph.D. student in Dr. Sheila Crowell’s Oregon Research for Clinical Health Innovations in Developmental Science (ORCHIDS) Lab. As a Latina and first-generation student, both my personal and professional experiences have informed my research. My work focuses on how systems of privilege and inequity interact with individual vulnerabilities to shape mental health challenges and risk for suicide, particularly among marginalized women and gender-diverse people.

Leadership Award

Angelique Allen

I am a third year biology graduate student studying how octopuses think about, or process, visual information. As a scientist, I know that communicating my work is essential in getting people to care and be excited about discovery-based research. To reach a wide audience I have shared my research in many different environments,  ranging from elementary class visits to symposiums at breweries. Now, I am working on creating a children’s book that illustrates how animals experience the world differently than we do. This book follows a little curious but shy girl named Margo, who will meet many different marine animals and real-life scientists from underrepresented populations who have made these exciting discoveries about said marine animals. This grant will support this book, and in turn it will help inspire the next generations of scientists.

Andy Davis

Andy Davis is a rising 5th year PhD student in the Pluth Lab; her research focuses on supramolecular chemistry for the molecular recognition of reactivity of anionic reactive sulfur, oxygen, & nitrogen species (ARSONS) and physical organic chemistry for the elucidation of ARSONS reactivity. Outside of the lab, Andy has been involved with the Alliance for Diversity in Science and Engineering (ADSE) as their community college (CC) outreach chair for 2+ years now. Andy’s goal with ADSE is to build a connection between Eugene/OR local CCs and the University of Oregon in order to promote the professional development of CC students with underrepresented backgrounds. Over the last couple years, she’s been able to host various events at Lane Community College (LCC) such as various workshops and Q&A panels. Additionally, Andy orchestrated ADSE’s annual UO Science Facilities Tour which has allowed over a dozen LCC students get an inside look into the scientific research facilities the UO has to offer as well as chat with current UO undergrad/graduate students about their experiences at UO. What Andy is most proud of with ADSE, is establishing the Graduate Student Seminar Series (GSSS) at LCC which has two goals 1) for graduate students to get experience with communicating their research to a broader audience and 2) for LCC students to get a personal look into diverse academic journeys and to learn about what current, cutting-edge research looks like outside the classroom. This series has garnered immense support and interest from both UO graduate students, spanning every scientific discipline, as well as from LCC students and faculty, who are incredibly engaged with every seminar speaker. Andy is looking forward to working alongside a newly established CC-Outreach committee with ADSE to continue to promote professional development opportunities to local CC students through established and brand new outreach events.

Parenting Award

Aileen Carroll-Godfrey

Aileen Carroll Godfrey is a PhD candidate in physics. She grew up in Northern California, then moved to eastern Idaho to complete a Bachelor’s degree in Physics with a Geophysics emphasis. She moved to Eugene in 2019 to pursue her PhD in Physics at the University of Oregon. She works in the Corwin Lab, designing experiments to probe diffusive systems and characterize the behavior of extreme first passage particles. Aileen is active in the Physics Department, serving on the Graduate Support Group and advocating for others in her program. In her spare time, she enjoys reading both fiction and nonfiction books, getting outside with her husband and 3-year-old daughter, and consuming delicious baked goods. This award with help cover childcare costs for her daughter, enabling her to spend more time in the lab making progress on experimental designs and collecting data.

Charity Mann

Charity Mann is a first year PhD student in geophysics, within the Earth Science department. Born and raised in the heart of the Willamette Valley, she has always had a fascination with the Cascadia Subduction Zone. While obtaining her Bachelor’s in geology from Oregon State University, she participated in undergraduate research on the Cascadia 2021 project, and later worked as an OHAZ/PNSN temporary field tech, helping to install, upgrade, and maintain seismic stations throughout Oregon before starting her PhD at UO last fall. Charity is currently studying ground motion within the Willamette Valley to determine the frequencies at which peak amplification of seismic waves are present at a range of locations. Through this research she hopes to improve our understanding of the behavior of ground movement in support of better structural engineering plans and earthquake disaster mitigation efforts. In her spare time Charity loves camping and road trips with her kids, as well as family game nights. The UOWGS Parenting Award will help support her commuting costs to network and engage more with her peers and others in the geophysics community.

Undergraduate Research Award

Danté James

I am a fourth-year undergraduate at UO, majoring in Multidisciplinary Sciences with minors in Global Health and Anthropology. I work in two areas of research. In the Barber lab, I study the relationships between resident host microbes, specifically the fungi Malassezia and the opportunistic bacteria Staphylococcus aureus. With the help of my amazing mentors, I have tied this project into my own interests surrounding sebum, an oily skin secretion, to study how it influences microbial physiology and antimicrobial response. As a research assistant for Dr. Melissa Graboyes, I utilize historical/archival data to analyze rebound cases of malaria and the contexts surrounding their occurrences. In turn, my goal is to pursue a PhD that combines my interests in science and global health to prepare for a career in research or at the CDC/WHO. I deeply value improving educational spaces, hence my involvement as a director in the Undergraduate Women is STEM, advisor for the Sustainable Labs Program, work as a Diverse Ducks Ambassador, and other things. Outside of UO, I enjoy working my way through cookbooks, hiking, bead embroidery, quilting, and playing the guitar and harmonica.

Stephanie Austin

Stephanie Austin is a fourth-year undergraduate Chemistry major. Her research in Dr. Darren Johnson’s Lab aims to utilize the lab’s pnictogen-assisted self-assembly method for creating macrocycles to synthesize a library of water-soluble thiacyclophanes. After graduating, Stephanie plans to pursue an accelerated Master’s program for an organic chemistry-related discipline. Outside of school, she enjoys watching movies—especially horror flicks—and spending time with friends. She can often be found drinking coffee, listening to audiobooks, and going for walks around campus.