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Autumn Amici is a plant ecologist who studies the effects of isolation on tree-dwelling plants (“epiphytes”) in the tropical rainforests of Costa Rica. She is also interested in the “art behind the science” and gave a plant science/art workshop in 2019 in which students learned about botanical illustrations and were able to draw their own.
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Dr. Anderegg studies forest responses to climate change. As a part of Mission STEMCAP he gave a presentation about climate change’s impact on Utah ecosystems and food webs. His presentation included an interactive activity in which students portrayed different species within a forest ecosystem, connected by string, and explored how movement or loss of one species affected the rest of the food web.
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Former STEMCAP program manager Allison Anholt has presented with STEMCAP multiple times. Most recently, she gave a Science Right Now presentation as part of Mission STEMCAP: Extinction. She discussed her time working as a field researcher in the Florida Everglades where she focused on a near-extinct species of bird called the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow.
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Patty Becnel from the Sierra Club partnered with STEMCAP to help guide students through a letter writing workshop as part of Mission STEMCAP: Climate Change. She gave students writing prompts and helped teach the class about non-profit organizations and the role of letter writing campaigns in the fight against climate change and other environmental issues.
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David is a University of Utah biochemist and director of the Electron Microscopy Core Laboratory. He led a three-part workshop in which students learned about viruses and virus structures. After the lesson students worked with magnetic kits to recreate virus structures as 3-D magnetic sculptures.
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Rebecca is a graduate student who gave a Science Right Now presentation about pigeon genetics and domesticated pigeon diversity and her own research studying pigeon genomes.
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Professor Krista Carlson worked with students at a Youth-In-Custody center to learn about the field of material science engineering in a series of multi-day workshops. Students learned about glass, and what makes glass different from other solid materials. They also explored magnetism and the ways glass is used in fields including manufacturing, medical supplies, and art.
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Ashley Cass, as a member of the Center for Organic Electrochemistry (CSOE), visited multiple Youth-In-Custody centers for multi-part workshops exploring the field of electrochemistry and the ways it differs from traditional chemistry. She and her co-presenters used a combination of slides, demonstrations and hands-on activities to show how a circuit is made, how hydrogen atoms are exchanged between molecules, and how chemical properties affect physical appearance.
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Cynthia an undergraduate at the U of U studying Biology (environmental and organismal emphasis) and minoring in English. Cynthia colleagues from the Clark Planetarium led a 4-part weekly robotics workshops at Girls Transition Center in which students used computer coding skills to program simple tasks into their robots in order to get them to accomplish certain tasks, such as hitting a ping pong ball into a cup.
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Dr. Chynoweth is a professor in the University of Utah School of Biological Science who focuses on wildlife populations and monitoring animals’ behavioral changes in response to human disturbance. He gave a Science Right Now presentation on his trap camera research and the role of monitoring animals in understanding and protecting wildlife species.
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Bob Cieri is a University of Utah Biology graduate student and independent artist Brian is independent artist who partnered with book author, and yoga instructor, Brian Russo to deliver an Art-Science workshop. Bob Cieri spoke about lung capacity and development of breathing, and Brian spoke about the importance of breathing in yoga and about careers in the art sector.
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Dale is a chemistry PhD student at the University of Utah. He gave a career presentation about his path into science and the ways that he overcame obstacles as a formerly incarcerated individual. He presented on the wide range of science subjects and the different opportunities science can offer to different people.
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Dr. Davies is a physicist from Utah State University who specializes in climate change. He partnered with Rebecca McFaul of the Fry Street Quartet to lead a presentation about the power of integrating science and music and the role that this integration can play in opening people’s eyes up to the crisis of climate change. This presentation was a part of Mission STEMCAP: Climate Change.
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Melissa Early from American Conservation Experience led a career workshop as a component of Mission STEMCAP: Extinction and taught students how they can get involved in conservation corps type jobs.
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Dr. Fanslow presented a Science Right Now workshop about her research on genetic disorders. Following the presentation, she helped the students through a lab in which they extracted DNA from strawberries.
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Erin Gaffney, as a member of the Center for Organic Electrochemistry (CSOE), visited multiple Youth-In-Custody centers for multi-part workshops exploring the field of electrochemistry and the ways it differs from traditional chemistry. She and her co-presenters used a combination of slides, demonstrations and hands-on activities to show how a circuit is made, how hydrogen atoms are exchanged between molecules, and how chemical properties affect physical appearance.
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STEMCAP program manager Laura George, has presented with STEMCAP several times. Most recently, she presented from the perspective of a former Student Conservation Association Intern, on various opportunities to get a start in the field of conservation through internships and corps programs. She then led students through a Junior Ranger activity that she designed and led as part of her internship with Student Conservation Association at Lake Clark National Park and asked students to think about what they would want in a job and how that could fit into a conservation position.
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Graham is a biologist with a focus on parasite ecology. He gave a Science Right Now presentation about his research on domestic pigeon lice and the role that parasites play in their host species’ behaviors.
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Natalie is a dance instructor at the University of Utah University of Utah. She partnered with Clark Planetarium and biology graduate student Amanda Cooper to present a couple of Art-Science Workshops. Amanda spoke about her research on the extreme physiology of human athletes, and Natalie had the students explore their own physical abilities through a series of activities and movements.
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Austin, PhD candidate in wildlife biology, has presented multiple times with STEMCAP. He also led a citizen scientist teacher development training. He presented on his study of wildlife in the Wasatch Mountain Range and the importance of and threats to biodiversity as part of Mission STEMCAP.
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Josh is a PhD student in the department of Geography at the University of Utah. He presented on his path into science, the obstacles he overcame, and where his scientific study has taken him.
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Tamrika is a linguistic scholar who studies the impacts of language loss on culture. She presented on diversity of languages across the world and the knowledge that different languages preserve and pass on. She explained the threats to linguistic diversity and the ways those threats overlap with threats to biological diversity as part of Mission STEMCAP: Biodiversity Loss at Girls Transition Center.
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Kasha is currently working towards her Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from the University of Utah. Kasha co-presented with Erin Gaffney about the field of chemistry and the electrolysis of water.
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Kyphuong is a Ph.D. candidate in biology at the University of Utah studying the neurological basis of behavior. He presented on his research on the Bluehead Wrasse, as sex-changing fish species and the effects of various brain stiumaltion on the fish’s sex.
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Pablo is a neuroscience graduate student who presented on nematode mutations and how the process of studying mutations in nematodes mirrors the study of mutations in neurons.
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As a PhD student in Mathematics at the University of Utah, Chris gave a Science Right Now presentation on his research at the intersection of math and biology. He used the spread of a Zombie infection as an example of a mathematical biology study and demonstrated his research process through a zombie activity.
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Suzanne Montgomery, of Montgomery Media Arts Institute has led podcasting workshops at three of our five centers as a component of Mission STEMCAP. In these workshops, students respond verbally to the environmental problems that they have learned about throughout Mission STEMCAP and work in teams to create informative podcasts designed to teach the public about their grand challenge and share with the public the working they have done throughout the programming series.
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Nalini is the STEMCAP Program Director. She is also a forest ecologist who focuses on canopy research. Her most recent presentation shared her tropical tree canopy field experience and research with students.
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Jason was a post- doctoral researcher in Randy Peterson’s lab in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Utah and now works at BioFire Defense helping to develop in vitro diagnostic tools for the detection of human pathogens. He gave a presentation on genetic engineering and mitochondrial DNA.
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Marina is a biology student at the University of Utah. She gave a presentation about the biology of pollination, including why and how plants are pollinated and how pollination drives relationships between pollinators and plants, as part of the Monarch Project.
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Rodolfo studies ants in the School of Biological Science at the University of Utah. He gave a Science Right Now presentation about the diversity of different ants and their different diets and led an activity comparing two species of ant.
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Cheenu is a University of Utah Biology graduate student. He spoke about his research with cone snail venom, including the diversity of snails and their implications for medical research and human health. He brought a hands-on activity observing cone snails through microscopes.
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Victoria has presented multiple times with STEMCAP. Most recently, she and Dominic Caputo led students through a two-day Art-Science workshop in which they created photosensitive “cyanotype” paper by painting a chemical wash onto watercolor paper. They then made works of art by placing various stencils on their cyanotype paper and exposing them to the sun.
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Brian is independent artist, book author, and yoga instructor, who partnered with Bob Cieri, a University of Utah Biology graduate student and independent artist to deliver an Art-Science workshop. Bob Cieri spoke about lung capacity and development of breathing, and Brian spoke about the importance of breathing in yoga and about careers in the art sector.
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NASA scientist Daniella Scalice visited three YIC facilities with STEMCAP and spoke about NASA’s mission to find evidence of life on other planets. She then led the students through a board game that incorporated logistics, budget, cost/benefit analysis, the features of planets and moons, and life-finding technology NASA employs in their missions.
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Bhawika is a pharmacology graduate student at the University of Utah. She presented a Science-Right-Now talk on her research on Zerbra Fish and the immune system.
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Writing teacher, Bonnie Shaw has worked with STEMCAP on 3 Mission STEMCAP series, leading students through Art-Science writing workshops in which they create poetry pieces and letters about a grand environmental challenge.
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Allison is a dance professor from Westminster College. She partnered with Allison Anholt to deliver an Art-Science workshop in which Allison Anholt spoke about the birds of the Great Salt Lake and Allison Shir translated these principles to a discussion and demonstration of how cooperation, fitting in, and creating niches translates to the functioning of famous dance troupes.
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Abrianna is a faculty member in the Biology Department at the University of Utah who focuses on the relationships and interactions between plants and herbivores and the role of plant chemical defenses. As part of the Monarch Project, she gave a presentation on Monarch migration.
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As a Biology post-baccalaureate research with University of Utah, Sydney presented on her research using stable isotope analysis and how these isotopes can be used to understand organisms’ diets and behaviors.
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Pratiti is a PhD candidate in the Department of City & Metropolitan Planning at the University of Utah. She presented on human water use and the importance of water sustainability to ensure a positive water future.
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Claire Taylor is a local artist whose work centers around the human-nature interface and urban ecologies. Claire has led multiple art-science workshops in which students engaged with watercolor in various ways. One workshop tasked students with relating the scientific concept of turbulence to the artistic process of watercolor and another had students paint abstract habitats, a creature to live in the habitat, and the positive and negative aspects of that ecosystem (including pollution, wild fires, etc.).
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Southwest Monarch Study Research Associate, Rachel Taylor, worked with students as part of the Monarch Project. She introduced students to Monarch biology and the threats that Monarchs face and led the effort to disseminate Milkweed once it was large enough to be transplanted around the Salt Lake Valley.
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Anna is a University of Utah Biology graduate student. She presented on pigeon genetics and how they relate to understanding bird anatomy and diversity. She also brought live pigeons and pigeon embryos, and provided access to a citizen science online game and factual information about viewing pigeons in Farmington.
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Nikki Wayment from HawkWatch International worked with STEMCAP to teach students about birds of prey and the role that monitoring raptor populations plays in monitoring ecosystem health. Nikki also taught students about ways to get involved in conservation efforts.
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Sara is a re-med student at University of Utah and classically-trained opera singer. She conducted an Art-Science workshop about vocal performance and physiology of the vocal cords. She had the students create their own “voice boxes” with straws and balloons, demonstrating the functionality of the vocal cords in the human body.
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Emmett Wilson is an independent dancer and artist. She partnered with Allison Anholt, a scientist from University of Utah to deliver an art-science workshop in which Allison spoke about the concepts of migration, movement, and flocking, including the unknown scientific principles behind “murmation”, or animals moving all together in many directions and Emmett translated these concepts into movement activities illustrating murmation and predator avoidance.
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James Young is a horticulturalist and farmer with the Grand Prismatic Seed. James partnered with STEMCAP to introduce students to horticulture and facilitated the care-taking of milkweed plants within the greenhouse at one of our YIC facilities throughout the 2019 Monarch Project.
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Michael is an Anthropology PhD student focusing on differences in the genes that control the structure of human brains and how these differences alter humans’ behaviors and thoughts. He gave a Science Right Now presentation on his research and the general field of Bioanthropology.