2018 Clare Boothe Luce Research Scholars Announced
Iona College is pleased to announce the selection of undergraduate students for the Clare Boothe Luce Research (CBL) Scholar award for Summer 2018.
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - Iona College is pleased to announce the selection of undergraduate students for the Clare Boothe Luce Research (CBL) Scholar award for Summer 2018.
The CBL research scholars are a prestigious group of women undergraduates. The awards recognize the students' academic accomplishments and provide them with the opportunity to deepen their education by working on an advanced research project in computer science, mathematical sciences, or physical science. Each student will work closely with a faculty research mentor throughout the award period.
The award is enabled by a grant awarded to Iona College from the Henry Luce Foundation to support Iona women undergraduate students who are majoring in the physical sciences, mathematics, and computer science – fields where women have been historically underrepresented nationally. Since its first grants in 1989, the Clare Boothe Luce Program has become one of the single most significant sources of private support for women in science, mathematics and engineering in the United States.
2018 Clare Boothe Luce Research Scholars
Amanda Aebig
Major: Computer Science
Year: Junior
Research Project Machine learning to aid in authorship attribution of 18th Century political writing
Mentor: Lubomir Ivanov, Ph.D., Computer Science
Naomy De Los Santos
Major: Chemistry
Year: Junior
Research Project Developing and characterizing antibody-polymer conjugates
Mentor: Casey Dougherty, Ph.D., Biochemistry
Maria DiBella
Major: Chemistry
Year: Junior
Research Project Synthesis and characterization of new water-soluble N-heterocyclic carbene ligands
Mentor: Kathleen Kristian, Ph.D., Inorganic Chemistry
Alyssa-Marie Gayapa
Major: ACS Chemistry
Year: Junior
Research Project Biophysical studies of model cellular membranes and interaction with small molecules
Mentor: Sunghee Lee, Ph.D., Biophysical Chemistry
Willow Held-Pistone
Major: Physics
Year: Junior
Research Project Analysis of spectral and spatial images of the atmosphere of Mars
Mentor: Br. Robert Novak, Ph.D., Physics
Kathryn Kenny
Major: Computer Science
Year: Sophomore
Research Project Advancing refactoring technologies in the area of software engineering
Mentor: Jongwook Kim, Ph.D., Computer Science
Brona O'Sullivan
Major: ACS Chemistry
Year: Junior
Research Project Investigation of thermotropic and structural properties of liposomes
Mentor: Sunghee Lee, Ph.D., Biophysical Chemistry
Ileana Palesi
Major: Computer Science
Year: Junior
Research Project Simulation of Cisplatin and its analogues using Molecular Dynamics
Mentor: Mychel Varner, Ph.D., Computational Chemistry
Marnie Skinner
Major: Biochemistry
Year: Sophomore
Research Project Interactions of graphene-based 2D nanomaterials with model cell membranes
Mentor: Sunghee Lee, Ph.D., Biophysical Chemistry
Kara Wilson
Major: Mathematics
Year: Sophomore
Research Project Statistical prediction of likely outcomes using probabilistic and linear algebra techniques
Mentor: Benjamin Gaines, Ph.D., Mathematics
ABOUT IONA
Founded in 1940, Iona University is a master's-granting private, Catholic, coeducational institution of learning in the tradition of the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers. Iona's 45-acre New Rochelle campus and 28-acre Bronxville campus are just 20 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. With a total enrollment of nearly 4,000 students and an alumni base of more than 50,000 around the world, Iona is a diverse community of learners and scholars dedicated to academic excellence and the values of justice, peace and service. Iona is highly accredited, offering undergraduate degrees in liberal arts, science and business administration, as well as Master of Arts, Master of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees and numerous advanced certificate programs. Iona students enjoy small class sizes, engaged professors and a wide array of academic programs across the School of Arts & Science; LaPenta School of Business; NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences; and Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Iona is widely recognized in prestigious rankings, including The Princeton Review’s 2024 national list of “The Best 389 Colleges” and The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse’s “2024 Best Colleges in America,” which ranked Iona at #66 in the nation overall and #8 in the nation among Catholic schools. Iona’s LaPenta School of Business is also accredited by AACSB International, a recognition awarded to just six percent of business schools worldwide. In addition, The Princeton Review recognized Iona’s on-campus MBA program as a “Best Business School for 2023.” Iona also offers a fully online MBA program for even greater flexibility. In July 2021, Iona announced the establishment of the NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences, which is now principally located on Iona’s Bronxville campus in collaboration with NewYork-Presbyterian. Connecting to its Irish heritage, the University also recently announced it is expanding abroad with a new campus in County Mayo, Ireland. A school on the rise, Iona officially changed its status from College to University on July 1, 2022, reflecting the growth of its academic programs and the prestige of an Iona education.