BY: Caitlyn Cardetti
We would also like to extend a special thank you to our Interim Dean of the Graduate School, Richard Gerrig, for helping us secure funding from the Graduate School for catering and printing posters for the event. Additionally, we thank the Graduate School Organization (GSO) for co-hosting and covering expenses for the prizes received by the top three speakers and the top three posters.
Graduate Student Speakers
The showcase began with some engaging talks by nine graduate students from various departments. These students discussed their work in 5 minutes – a task which is not easy to do when your audience comes from varied backgrounds. Kudos to everyone who participated. The top three speakers were awarded a small prize and certificate for their efforts.
In third, Irina Petrushina of Physics & Astronomy took on the incredibly difficult task of explaining particle accelerators with her “The Chilling Recount of an Unexpected Discovery: First Observations of the Plasma-Cascade Instability in Coherent Electron Cooling Experiment.”
Coming in second, Shachee Mishra of Computer Science entertained us on the topic of “Multi-layer Software Transformation for Attack Surface Reduction” and gave us insight on how hackers attack our software and what she does to fight them off.
And in first, Amanda Russo of Psychology – Integrative Neuroscience on the “Individual Differences in the Neural Mechanisms Underlying Fear Extinction” and teaching us how studying mice learning can help us understand Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Panel of Women Professors
Our speakers were followed by an insightful panel on what it is like being a woman in science and how to survive it. We would like to give a warm thank you Professor Carol A. Carter of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology; Professor Marci Lobel of Social and Health Psychology; Assistant Professor Jillian Nissen of Biological Sciences at SUNY Westbury; and Dr. Harini Krishnan Postdoctoral Researcher in Physiology and Biophysics for fielding our questions. Their advice was undoubtedly helpful to many, if not all, of the researchers in the room, women and men alike.
If you would like to learn more about our panelists – and how they think we can create a better environment for women scientists – check out our previous posts: Meet Dr. Carol A. Carter, Meet Dr. Marci Lobel, Meet Dr. Jillian Nissen, Meet Dr. Harini Krishnan.
Graduate Student Poster Session
Last but not least, we had 18 posters, with representation from many of Stony Brook University’s graduate departments. The top three posters were awarded a small prize and certificate for their presentation ability and scientific merit.
In third place, Margaret Shevik of Pharmacology for “A flexible, clear, silicon-based window for long-term imaging in mice.”
Coming in second, Charuta Pethe of Computer Science for “User Characterization on Twitter”
And in first, Taylor Medwig Kinney of Biochemistry and Cell Biology for “Dissecting the Transcriptional Regulation of Cell Invasion In Vivo”.
Learn more about these amazing scientists in our previous posts:
Women’s Research in STEM Showcase: Meet the Scientists – Part One
Women’s Research in STEM Showcase: Meet the Scientists – Part Two
Women’s Research in STEM Showcase: Meet the Scientists – Part Three
Women’s Research in STEM Showcase: Meet the Scientists – Part Four
Women’s Research in STEM Showcase: Meet the Scientists – Part Five
Women’s Research in STEM Showcase: Meet the Scientists – Part Six
Once again, we can’t thank you enough for attending our event! As Aniska Chikhalya, our current GWiSE President said, ‘We would love to make this an annual event at SBU and to do that we need you!’ So please keep attending our events, giving us feedback, keep telling us what YOU need (you can email us at sbu.gwise@stonybrook.edu).
We are in this together – we are here to support each other!
Graduate Women in Science and Engineering @ SBU 