Fall 2013 ACHIEVEMENTS National Newsletter of ARCS ® Foundation
Achievement Rewards for College Scientists President’s Message
Dear ARCS® Foundation Friends,
Thank you for reading the Fall 2013 issue of ACHIEVEMENTS! We - est to you as ARCS Foundation Alums, and supporters.
enthused for the year ahead. A highlight of the meeting was attending the ARCS Foundation Portland Chapter’s -
ARCS Foundation is at an important juncture in its 55 year history. As our nation’s demand for PhD level scientists con- tinues to increase, our mission to support scholars in STEM related fields of study becomes more and more important.
2 An ARCS ® Foundation National News Publication To help ARCS Foundation support Contents - President’s message Page 2 Board Endowment Fund. In 2010, our former National President, Mary Scholar - Achievements - Page 4 tional Endowment Fund to 2 million Chapter dollars. With the generous support Achievements Page 9 members of the National Board, we National Achievements we’re not there yet! It is my hope Page 16 that will be our ACHIEVEMENT by June 2015. President, National Board
NATIONAL PRESIDENT Anna Maria Matteucci Ann Brown Nancy B. Spetzler Judith Miller Donna Casey Andrea Purple Diane Chalmers OFFICERS/DIRECTORS Mary Snitch Gracia Conn Diana Alexander Lynne Sonntag Janet Dickenson Jeanne Berdik Donna Spivey Lynn Dillon Kristen Bloschock Carlyn Steiner Cheryl Ernst Lynne Brickner Carol Stockman Eileen Haga Christine Burton Shirleen Tucker Barbara Hamkalo Donna Casey Elizabeth Wainwright Gail House Linda Celesia Leslie Workman Jean Josephson Nancy Chambers Margaret McGann Susan Harter CHAPTER PRESIDENTS Andrea Thoresen Jacqueline Henson Patricia Anderson Missy Unkovic Sherry Lundeen Roulhac Austin Yolanda Walther- Ronnie Martin Judy Benham Meade
3 An ARCS ® Foundation National News Publication Scholar Achievements
Former ARCS Scholar Named NASA Astronaut
NASA selected biologist Jessica Meir, who earned a doctorate at the Scripps Institution of Ocean- ography, for astronaut training this past June.
Meir, 35, was among four women and four men named to the astro- naut corps by NASA, which made the announcement on the eve of the day 30 years ago when Sally Ride became the first American woman to travel into space.
NASA said the team could earn their way on to the first manned missions to an asteroid and to Mars. No dates have been set for either of those missions, but NASA continues to send astronauts to the International Space Station.
Meir was born in Caribou, Maine, and went on to earn degrees at Brown University and the International Space University before she took her doctorate at Scripps. Paul Popoganis, a Scripps researcher who served as Meir’s advisor, said, “Dr. Meir always demonstrated that combina- tion of intellect, initiative, and enthusiasm to become an excellent scientist as well as astronaut. She enjoys facing
4 An ARCS ® Foundation National News Publication intellectual as well as physical challenges, and she always finds a way to get the job done. She is equally adept at bench work in the laboratory as well as fieldwork in the harsh Antarctic environment. In addition, she is also a certi- fied pilot, and an accomplished scuba diver. All these skills, and talents will serve her well as an astronaut.”
(Excerpted from San Diego Union-Tribune article, June 17, 2013)
Minnesota ARCS Alum A National Science Foundation Researcher at Stanford
Greg Lefevre was recently awarded the “Outstanding Disserta- tion Award” for his 2012 thesis at the University of Minnesota by the As- sociation of Environ- mental Engineering and Science Professors (http://www.ce.umn.edu/ news/). Greg is currently working as a postdoc- toral research scholar in the National Science Foundation engineering research center for Re-inventing the Nation’s Urban Water Infrastructure (ReNUWIt; renuwit.org). ReNUW It’s focus is on creating comprehensive ways to better use and sustainably manage water in urban arid regions. Greg’s “research home” is in the environmental science and engineering program at Stanford University
5 An ARCS ® Foundation National News Publication under the direction of Prof. Richard Luthy. He works in two main project areas. One examines the use of systems to capture, treat, and recharge storm water into aquifers that can be used later. His second area of research exam- ines the use of plants to take up and degrade trace organic contaminants that may be found in recycled water or storm water.
Honolulu Scholar Kelly Benoit-Bird Honored for Ocean Evesdropping
ARCS Foundation Honolulu Scholar (2002) Kelly Benoit-Bird continues to receive recognition for her work to develop and ap- ply acoustic equipment to study marine mammals and the open ocean ecosystem since graduat- ing from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Dr. Benoit-Bird, an associate professor in the College of Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State university received a Presidential Early Career Award among other honors—most notably, a 2010 MacArthur Foundation grant, popularly known as a “Genius Award.”
In 2012, she was named a PopTech! Fellow for her inno- vative research. And, in April 2013, she was featured on Public Radio’s Academic Minute.
6 An ARCS ® Foundation National News Publication ARCS Scholar Maureen Ryan Featured on National Public Radio
Maureen Ryan, ARCS Scholar Alum, who is connected to three ARCS Foundation Chapters has recently been featured on National Public Ra- dio (NPR). Maureen is from Pittsburgh where her mother, Catharine, is a Pittsburgh Chap- ter member. Her par- ents have supported a scholar award in ecology at Penn State in Maureen’s name. Maureen received her scholar award from the Northern CA Chapter when she was a doctoral student at UC Davis. She is now the David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellow at the University of Washington, a partner university to the Seattle Chapter.
7 An ARCS ® Foundation National News Publication Portland ARCS Alum at NIH National Human Genome Research Institute
Kate Saylor, Oregon Health and Science University ARCS Scholar (2007) is a health policy analyst in the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health. Her office focuses on policy issues including second- ary/incidental genetic research results; gene patenting; the value and costs of genetic testing in the clinic; and ge- netic discrimination.
Saylor is also involved in regular analyses and reporting on the genomic research that NIH funds, and interacts frequently with Congress and other external stakehold- ers. Prior to her work at NIH, Ms. Saylor worked at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, where she spent much of the past year helping with stroke research planning.
8 An ARCS ® Foundation National News Publication Chapter Achievements
Seattle Chapter Celebrates Record Breaking Auction
The ARCS Foundation Seattle Chapter celebrated its most successful auction yet on Sunday, June 2nd, at Chihuly Garden and Glass. Nearly 200 members and “Friends of ARCS” enjoyed an evening that included spir- ited bidding and revelry. Guests were welcomed to what ARCS member Cathi Hatch called “a magical fairyland of vividly-hued glass plants and trees in the garden” After cocktails and a silent auction, guests were ushered into the Glasshouse to dine under the ethereal orange and gold blown-glass floral sculpture hanging overhead.
Event co-chairs Vicki Griffin, Marnie Briggs-Stamper, and Andrea Thoreson transformed the Glass- house to a glistening garden party. The auction catalog was a curated collection of one-of-a-kind items.
The auction Fund-A-Fellow portion of the evening was memorable. The opening Raise Your Paddle was to es-
9 An ARCS ® Foundation National News Publication tablish an ARCS Endow- ment. An anonymous do- nor came forward with gift of $75,000. When the applause ended, ARCS Fellow Stephanie Seeman raised a paddle on behalf of Tom and Vicki Griffin for another endowment. Donors Trish and Jim Rogers generously raised their paddle to donate the third endowment. Donors Nancy and Doug Norberg came forward later in the evening to establish an endowment in honor of their daughter, Kristin Norberg Kenefick, a new ARCS Foundation member. With four new endowments, eight full-named fellowships, and four full shared fellow- ships, the Fund-A-Fellow portion of the evening raised $547,000, which also reflects the many other generous donations.
At the end of the night, Andrea Thoreson, ARCS Founda- tion Seattle President, and auction CoChair announced the total raised that evening; just over $650,000.
ARCS Pittsburgh Chapter Celebrates Milestones
Since its inception in 2003, ARCS Foundation Pittsburgh Chapter has raised more than one million dollars to support U.S. doctoral students in science, engineering, and technology at University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, and Penn State. To mark its first million dollars, as well as its first
10 An ARCS ® Foundation National News Publication ten years of existence, ARCS Foundation Pitts- burgh Chapter hosted a celebratory evening reception June 6 at the Frick Art and Historical Center in Point Breeze.
University of Pittsburgh’s Chancellor Mark Nordenberg was on hand, as was ARCS Pittsburgh charter member Maureen Cohon, wife of CMU’s outgoing president Jared Cohon. President Missy Unkovic spelled out the Pittsburgh Chapter’s accomplishments; “Raising $1,172,500 for scholar awards is a large milestone to celebrate in a small group of women who have worked together for only ten years.”
Proceeds from the reception fund the Maureen and Jerry Co- hon ARCS Scholar Award, in honor of Dr. Jared Cohon.
Metropolitan Washington Chapter Members Tour Goddard Space Flight Center
On Wednesday, August 21, 2013, a group from ARCS Foundation Metropolitan Washington Chapter (MWC), embarked on an in-depth, “behind-the-scenes” tour of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The tour was ar- ranged through the efforts of ARCS/MWC member Diana Alexander and her husband Joe, both of whom had long careers with GSFC. ARCS/MWC not only has many links to GSFC and, more broadly, NASA, through its members and scholars but GSFC’s far-reaching scientific mission aligns perfectly with ARCS Foundation founding principles and goals.
11 An ARCS ® Foundation National News Publication The group was greeted at the Visitor’s Center by Nina Har- ris, Senior Protocol Officer, and Rho Christensen, Office of Communications. After exploring the center’s exhibits, ranging from early Vanguard missions to more recent space exploration projects, the group heard dynamic pre- sentations from Dr. Colleen Hartman, the Deputy Direc- tor for Science, Operations & Program Performance, and Dr. Michelle Thaller, Assistant Director for Science.
Dr. Hartman gave a comprehensive overview of GSFC and its projects, describing cutting-edge projects ranging from Hubble to Curiosity to the Lunar Atmosphere Dust Environ-
12 An ARCS ® Foundation National News Publication ment Explorer (LADEE was launched on Friday, September 6th, from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, located at Wal- lops Island, VA).
Dr. Thaller presented GSFC’s “Science on a Sphere,” speaking of weather patterns, climate change, and the changing earth surface, accompanied by mesmerizing projec- tions on the sphere. The group then traveled by bus to numerous buildings within GSFC. First stop, Mr. Greg Dell, Deputy Chief, Earth Science Mission Operations (ESMO), discussed the wide variety of Earth Observing Missions.
Next stop: the Spacecraft Test & Integration Complex. Upon entering the facility, ARCS/MWC was treated to a demonstration of a 1/6th scale-model of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) built by students from Cal Poly Institute in California, with GSFC input.
The group then viewed and learned about projects being assembled in some of the largest clean rooms in the world, including the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS), the Global Precipitation Measure- ment (GPM) mission, and the JWST. The MMS, a
13 An ARCS ® Foundation National News Publication mission studying mag- netic reconnection, is being developed, integrated, and tested at GSFC. The GPM is an international satellite mission that will use next- generation precipitation measurements to quantify rain and snow worldwide.
The tour ended with a presentation about the JWST. As noted by NASA, the JWST “is designed to continue—and expand—the legacy of scientific discovery from Hubble.” The JWST, which will primarily observe infrared light and will be about 100 times more powerful than Hubble, is an international collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency. GSFC is responsible for several aspects of the project, including its overall management.
$150,000 Donation Endows Atlanta Chapter’s Future
The Wilbur and Hilda Glenn Family Foundation endowed the future of ARCS Foundation Atlanta Chapter, with a Lead Donation of $150,000 to its Endowment Fund Cam- paign. This is by far the largest donation ever received by the Atlanta Chapter, ensuring a legacy it can build upon. The Atlanta Chapter is extremely grateful for the Glenn Family Foundation’s generous donation and support of its mission to provide scholar awards for “the best and brightest.”
14 An ARCS ® Foundation National News Publication Phoenix Chapter Boasts First Mother-Daughter ARCS Lights
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Like mother, like daughter. These sayings may come to mind when thinking about Anna Maria Matteucci, ARCS Foundation Phoenix Chapter Light 2013. Anna Ma- ria follows in the footsteps of her mother, Sandra Matteucci, who was named an ARCS Foundation Light in 2004. This “dynamic duo” made ARCS Foundation history as the first mother-daughter ARCS Lights. Sandra joined the Phoenix Chapter in 1991 and has since then been a leader and a mentor in Phoenix and on the National Board. She is currently a member of the Na- tional Council of Advisors. In 2011, Sandra was named an ARCS Foundation Lifetime Achiever. The Ralph Matteucci Endowment Award was established in 2004 in memory of her late husband.
Anna Maria joined ARCS in 2001 and, like her mother, has been active in the Phoenix Chapter and on the National Board. She recently completed a two-year stint as Presi- dent of the Phoenix Chapter, served as National ARCS Foundation Vice President of Communications, and is currently National Treasurer. Sandra and Anna Maria host the annual ARCS Foundation Phoenix Chapter Retreat each August, as well as Phoenix Chapter events and luncheons, including the Annual General Meeting and Member Tea each February.
15 An ARCS ® Foundation National News Publication National Achievements
SCIENCE IN PARADISE: ARCS National Annual Meeting
The 2013 ARCS Foundation National Annual Meeting, hosted by ARCS Foundation Honolulu Chapter, was held May 30-June 1. This meeting provided a wonder- ful opportunity for attendees to network with members of the 17 ARCS Foundation Chapters.
The National Annual Meeting also offered participants opportunities to hone their skills with focused training designed to help each chapter further develop and prosper. Specific workshops covered topics such as “Using the ARCS Foundation Website to Increase Chapter Effective- ness,” “Grant Writing,” and “Integrating Planned Giving into Chapter Fund Development Plans.” These intensive workshops were well received by ARCS Foundation at-
16 An ARCS ® Foundation National News Publication tendees. With support from faculty members from The University of Hawaii, the science portion of the Annual Meeting included presentations from experts in their re- spective fields on:
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Optional tours, which were well attended by ARCS Foun- dation members and guests, included excursions to Oahu Volcanic Sites, Lyon Arboretum, University of Hawaii Space Lab and Central Pacific Hurricane Center, and the Waikiki Aquarium.
A highlight of the 2013 National Annual Meeting was The ARCS Light Award Luncheon, which honored 2013 recipi- ents of the prestigious ARCS Light Award.
17 An ARCS ® Foundation National News Publication Lockheed Martin Corporation Recognized as ARCS Foundation Champion
ARCS National President Nancy Spetzler and a small group of National Board leaders recently had the opportunity in Portland, OR, to meet over dinner with Dr. Ray O. Johnson, Senior VP and Chief Technology Officer, Lock- heed Martin Corporation. During the dinner, Nancy recognized Dr. Johnson for his, and the Corpo- ration’s, commitment to STEM, and for his steadfast and generous support to the ARCS National Endowment Fund -- the financial core of the National organization’s future growth and stability. Dr. Johnson applauded the work and successes of ARCS Foundation and offered his continued commitment to support the National Endowment Fund into the future.
Lockheed Martin Corporation is also a major contributor to Chapter Scholar Award Funds in Metropolitan Washington and Colorado, with a growing presence in the Atlanta and San Diego Chapters.
ARCS Scholar Alum Networking Reception
An exciting ARCS Foundation Alum outreach initiative was kicked off in August in conjunction with an American In- stitute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) conference in Los Angeles. The initiative was brought to National by Kristen Bloschock, Metropolitan Washington Member and National Board Secretary. Kristen is also an ARCS Founda-
18 An ARCS ® Foundation National News Publication tion Alum (PhD/Physics/2007), an AIAA Member, and is employed by Lockheed Martin Corporate Engineering and Technology, a long-time champion of ARCS Foundation.
The idea of the initiative is to reach out to ARCS Founda- tion Alums, connecting via the National Scholar database,
and organize an informal event in conjunction with major AIAA conferences across the U.S. In the case of Los Angeles, the ARCS Foundation Scholar database shows nearly 600 alums in the greater LA area. Kristen was delighted to receive nearly two dozen respons- es to her first Alum-to-Alum invitation -- all expressing high interest in reconnecting with ARCS Foundation in the Los Angeles Chapter or elsewhere. The August 14th reception in Los Angeles included four soon-to-be Alums (completion of PhD in sight) as well as leaders of the LA Chapter. This event was marked by spirited conversations on the impact of ARCS Foundation Scholar Awards’ funding, and continued involvement in ARCS Foundation following graduation.
Plans are underway to organize similar events in conjunc- tion with AIAA conferences in Washington, DC (January 2014), Atlanta, (June 2014) and San Diego (August 2014).
19 An ARCS ® Foundation National News Publication Nancy Spetzler President ARCS Foundation National Board
Nancy Chambers VP Communications ARCS Foundation National Board Christy Burton Newsletter Editor ARCS Foundation National Board
Contributors: All ARCS Foundation Chapters Jacob Tobey Editorial Designer
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20 An ARCS ® Foundation National News Publication