TCNJ

20 IN BRIEF The Student Chemists Association received two national awards from the American Chemical Society—the "Outstanding Student Chapter Award" and the "Green Chemistry Award"—for the sixth consecutive year. Jana Gevertz, associate professor of mathematics and statistics and recipient of the 2016 Gitenstein-Hart Sabbatical Prize, spent the past year applying a mathematical lens to biology. Her goal is to develop a set of equations that describe the change in size of melanoma tumors in mice following treatments with a variety of genetically engineered viruses. Success would boost the efficacy of these treatments in human clinical trials. Dean Jeff Osborn was one of two recipients of the 2016 Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) Fellows Award. The CUR Fellows Award is presented biennially and is CUR's highest award for recognizing national leadership and accomplishment in undergraduate research. Osborn's award comes on the heels of CUR's October announcement that TCNJ would receive the council's first-ever Campus-wide Award for Undergraduate Research Accomplishment (AURA). Andrew Grant '07, award-winning Science News journalist, returned to campus in October as a speaker in the school's fall colloquium series. He discussed how scientific findings make their way to the general public—from jargon-filled scientific journals to the popular media. $ 2 million TOTAL 2016 GRANT FUNDING e school has received $15 million in external funding over the last 10 years. A SUNNY DAY FOR ENTREPRENEURS After innovating new ways to harness solar power and backing their ideas with a solid business plan, senior physics majors Nic Freschi and Cody Combs took home first-place in the fifth annual Mayo Business Plan Competition. Freschi and Combs, along with 2015 finance and physics grad Christian Balevski, make up Solar Divide, LLC. Their idea: divide sunlight into different wavelengths, thereby allowing each to be put to work at its optimal efficiency and turning otherwise wasted heat energy into electricity. The team is confident that their innovation can be easily retrofitted to existing solar farms, which would double their output. "We want to be a part of this transition away from fossil fuels and into clean energy," Balevski said. "And after we succeed with this, we'll keep moving forward." THE GOLD ADDS UP Mathematics major Rebecca Santorella '17 has been named a 2016 Goldwater Scholar, making this the third consecutive year in which a student in the math program has earned gold. Syndi Barish '16 and Alana Huszar '16 received the award in 2014 and 2015, respectively. For Santorella, winning a Goldwater Scholarship is the high-water mark in her past year of challenging research, working alongside Associate Professor of Mathe- matics and Statistics Jana Gevertz. The pair built a multi-scale model of tumor growth based on stochastic cellular signaling networks. They will continue their research next year, implementing some of the ideas Santorella included in her Goldwater research proposal. She also plans to pursue a PhD in applied mathematics after she graduates, potentially specializing in mathematical biology. Goldwater Scholars are chosen through a highly selective national competition that honors exceptional undergraduate students who plan to pursue graduate degrees in the STEM fields and careers in research. Chemistry majors Sara Martin '17 and Tanya Townsend '17 were selected for honorable mentions this year. SCHOOL OF SCIENCE 88% FOUR-YEAR GRADUATION RATE OF STUDENTS ENROLLED IN THE SCHOOL'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION-FUNDED PERSIST PROGRAM.

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