STEM Students Awarded Engineering Research Scholarships
TORRANCE—Four El Camino College students received $2,500 scholarships after completing the prestigious Center for Translational Applications of Nanoscale Multiferroic Systems (TANMS) Research Experience and Mentoring (REM) program this past semester.
El Camino students Ana Venerio, Jesus Fuentes, Javier Paz-Guerrero, and Yaxhel Lozoya each participated in the REM program, which pairs high school and community college students in research teams to carry out a research project related to nanoscale investigations within the TANMS Engineering Research Center at UCLA. Each team was matched with a graduate student or postdoc mentor who guided them in a research project that did not require use of a physical laboratory. Students learned to use software to organize and analyze data for modeling purposes within a specified research project. They were expected to dedicate a minimum of six hours a week, including their research activity, online meetings and workshops, and independent online skill development modules. The REM program was offered online from October 2020 through January 2021 due to UCLA’s COVID-related campus closure.
El Camino President/Superintendent Dr. Brenda Thames praised the students for their tenacious dedication to seeing their projects through to completion.
“I congratulate our students for committing to their TANMS research and forever leaving their mark on history,” Dr. Thames said. “The prestigious REM program has provided an invaluable experience for everyone involved.”
Of the four El Camino students, Ana received the TANMS Elija S. Robinson Award for Inspiration, Integrity, and Scholarly Promise in Engineering for her research project on “Ferromagnetic Resonance Enhanced Electrically Small Antennas.” She, her high school project partner, and their TANMS advisors presented their research at the national 2021 Virtual REM Conference earlier this year. REM Program Director Dr. Maria del Pilar O’Cadiz, praised the students for their commitment to the program, despite the challenges faced by COVID-19 restrictions.
“The four El Camino students who participated this past fall session were amazing,” Dr. O’Cadiz stated. “They all worked hard, mentored their high school student and presented in the NSF Virtual Meeting. Unfortunately, we were unable to travel to D.C. [for the Conference] this year for obvious reasons.”
July 28, 2021