GREATS Scholars 2020-2021 Cohort

Joshua Willis Adkins (he/him/his) is a third-year doctoral student in the materials engineering program at the University of Illinois Chicago. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Xavier University of Louisiana, where he performed research on improving the performance and longevity of lithium-sulfur batteries with generous support from a multi-million-dollar NASA grant. His doctoral research is conducted under the supervision of Drs. Jeremiah Abiade and Saidur Bakaul, and involves the investigation of the temperature-, size- and dopant-mediated ferroelectric and ferromagnetic phenomena exhibited by complex oxide thin films grown via pulsed laser deposition. Joshua holds a visiting student appointment at Argonne National Laboratory. He also serves on UIC’s Black Graduate Student Association Committee on Outreach and Mentorship, where he assists with the development and administration of a multidisciplinary mentoring program targeted towards Black undergraduate and graduate students. In his free time, Joshua enjoys reading science fiction literature and playing World of Warcraft.

Jesbaniris (Jesba) Bas Concepción is a fourth-year graduate student in chemistry, majoring in organic and bioinorganic chemistry. She finished her undergraduate degree in chemistry at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, in 2017. Jesba works on a joint project under the guidance of Dr. Wardrop and Dr. Miller, the goal of which is to make functional bioprobes based on cyclohexanyl-polyamino carboxylate scaffolds and apply it in the biomedical field. Jesba is vice president of the Chemistry Graduate Student Association for 2020-2021. Aside from science, Jesba is a group fitness instructor at the UIC Rec Center, where she teaches HIIT cycle classes and will soon begin teaching functional and strength training.

Cynthia Garcia-Eidell (she/her/hers) is a third-year Ph.D. student in the earth and environmental sciences. She has a M.Eng. in environmental engineering from the Catholic University of Korea and a BS in biology from the University of the Philippines. She is an ACM SIGHPC/Intel Computational and Data Science Fellow and a member of the Atmosphere, Climate, and Ecosystems lab group, led by Professor Max Berkelhammer. Her research focuses on the use of satellite-derived datasets to understand “coastal couplings” or how adjacent terrestrial and marine primary productivity respond to climate modes and other forcings. She was trained in satellite data processing and geospatial analysis at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, where she served as a visiting scientist under the guidance of Emeritus Scientist Joey Comiso. Prior to moving to the United States, Cynthia was part of the science policy team of the late Senator Edgardo Angara in the Philippine Senate. Apart from remote sensing, science policies, and playing with big data, Cynthia is also fond of yoga and rock climbing.

Shari Garrett (she/her/hers) is a microbiology and immunology PhD candidate. She received her BS in biotechnology from the University of Georgia in 2011 and her MS in quality assurance from Kennesaw State University in 2015. Upon completion of her bachelor’s degree, she worked in the food testing and manufacturing industry focusing on maintaining the quality and safety of manufactured and raw food products. After the completion of her master’s degree, she worked as an applications scientist where she was responsible for developing and presenting novel sample preparation methods directed towards a variety of scientific industries and markets. As a PhD candidate, Shari focuses on elucidating the microbial mechanisms that are related to digestive diseases and disorders. She is also the co-founder and vice president of UIC’s Black Graduate Student Association, where her aim is to enhance the academic, social and professional development of the Black graduate student population. She also sits on many committees at UIC, such as the Chancellor’s Committee for the Status of Blacks and is the Chair of the BGSA Research Symposium Committee. In her free time, Shari spends time exploring the city of Chicago, reading, and traveling (when she can).

David L Molina is a second-year graduate student in the chemistry PhD program. He is part of the Trenary surface science group, and his current project involves studying the selective hydrogenation of acetylene to ethylene on a Pd/Ag(111) single atom-alloy (SAA) under ultra-high vacuum conditions. David received a BA in chemistry with a minor in Italian and Italian-American studies from UIC in 2018. He enjoys cooking and trying new foods, playing soccer, and traveling when not working.

Alex Christopher Stutts is a first-year electrical engineering PhD student in the Andrew Electromagnetics Laboratory under the guidance of Professor Danilo Erricolo. Alex received his bachelor of science degree from UIC in May 2020 and serves as secretary for the IEEE Antennas and Propagation / Microwave Theory and Techniques Society Joint Chicago Chapter. During his undergraduate career, Alex held positions at Apple, Continental, GE Appliances, a Haier Company, and Best Buy. He also served as an undergraduate research assistant in his senior year working on a microscale multiplexing system. Alex is a recipient of the 2020 GEM Fellowship and 2020 NSF Bridge to the Doctorate at UIC Fellowship. He is a senior intern hardware developer at IBM Systems, responsible for developing an application to automate constraint entry for PCB design. Outside of professional endeavors, Alex enjoys playing soccer and video games, producing music, and volunteering.

Daniel Torres is a 2nd year Ph.D. student in the Mechanical Engineering program. Daniel received his BS in mechanical engineering from UIC in the spring of 2020. He is a member of the Robotics and Motion (RAM) laboratory under the guidance of Dr. Pranav Bhounsule. He is currently working on familiarizing himself with Reinforcement Learning (RL) and one of the robots available in the lab, Digit. He is currently a member of SHPE and enjoys being a part of the SHPE Outreach team whose efforts are in developing interest in STEM among the youth.  Daniel was selected as a 2020 fellow for the Bridge to the Doctorate Fellowship. Most recently, he has been awarded an additional fellowship through the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). In his free time, he enjoys tinkering with robotics and 3D printing, reading, and playing basketball.

Jaqueline (Jackie) Rojas Robles (she/her/hers) is a 3^rdyear Ph.D. student in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. She has a BS in Bioengineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago, which she received in 2018. As an undergraduate, she joined the Laboratory for Oxide and Research led by Dr. Jeremiah Abiade from the mechanical and Industrial Engineering department. Her work involved the investigation of antibacterial properties of surface coatings such as those fabricated for superhydrophobic materials. Her work in this area has expanded to a doctoral project on microbial electrosynthesis. Under the guidance of her advisor Dr.Abiade, she aims to explore the use of microorganisms for CO2 carbon capture. She also currently serves as the president of UIC’s GradSWE group. Her favorite downtime activity is jogging and is training to run her 3^rdChicago marathon.

Frances Crable (she/her/hers) is a 2nd-year Ph.D. student in the Biological Sciences Department – Ecology and Evolution at UIC. She currently works in the Gonzalez-Meler Stable Isotope Lab and is also affiliated with The Norweigan Insitute for Water Research, working under Dr. Gonzalez-Meler and Dr. Andrew King. She earned her B.S in Biology from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2019, where her independent research focused on wetland nitrogen cycles and coral reef fish behavior. Her current research focuses on Arctic Ocean carbon/nitrogen cycles and the effects of climate change, specifically in Norway and the Canadian Arctic. She plans to look at the impact of seasonal/natural variability and projected climate change on primary productivity through laboratory culture experiments and remote sensing data. In her free time, she enjoys practicing aerial yoga and skateboarding.

Chioma Christine Nnyamah is a third-year Ph.D. student in the Biomedical Sciences (GEMS) program with a concentration in endocrinology and metabolic studies. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry from Albany State University in 2019. She works under the direction of Dr. Brian T. Layden, studying the adipose-specific effects of free fatty acid receptor 2 (FFA2) and its interaction with short chain fatty acids in mouse models to complete the characterization of the receptor and establish its potential as a drug target for diabetes and other metabolic diseases. She also carries out in vitro studies to investigate the effects of different short chain fatty acids on adipogenesis/adipocyte maturation. She spends her free time strength training/powerlifting at the UIC Rec center, looking at things to add to her Harry Potter merchandise collection, and looking for adventures to go on.

Daniela Quiñónez is a rising 2nd year MS student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. She obtained a BS in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her interests include image and speech processing, as well as machine learning. Daniela enjoys gardening, exploring new cuisines, and spending time with her family.