Scott Williams has been recognized by the Laser and Photonics labs of Central Carolina Community College (CCCC) for being a founding CCCC laser program advisor, thus providing valuable advice and direction during the first meeting which set the stage for changing the focus of study for the laser program from fiber optics laser applications to other laser applications.

Congratulations, Scott!

For UNC Charlotte biochemist Andrew Truman, a quest for new and better treatments for cancers and neurological diseases drives his research into protein folding and the DNA damage response, along with his desire to advance science broadly. To fund his work, he has received three significant National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants expected to total $2M.

“Working in our labs, we are curious to understand how cells function,” Truman says. “But there are people all over the world affected by these illnesses. We are very privileged to have funding from the NIH to drive this research forward.”

Decrypting The Chaperone Code

When proteins are created in cells, they resemble unwound balls of string. The strands must be wound and folded into specific shapes for proteins to become active. Unraveling the mysteries of these complex processes – and how they influence the development and potential treatment of diseases – shapes the research.

“This winding and folding function is performed by what are known as chaperone proteins. These proteins are present – and nearly identical – in all organisms from bacteria to yeast, frogs, mice, humans and other organisms,” explains Truman, an associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

The molecular chaperone proteins can be useful, but they can also cause harm, such as when their actions contribute to the development of tumors.

Truman’s lab specifically studies the Heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) chaperone. Hsp70 – a sort of housekeeping protein – is found in all organisms from bacteria to human cells and is essential for their survival.

“Hsp70 is there at the birth of proteins, helping new proteins to fold,” he says. “When proteins become too badly damaged to function, Hsp70 is there to escort them to be recycled by the cell. In a sense, Hsp70 guards our proteins throughout their lifetime.”

Although many groups across the world study molecular chaperones, Truman’s research group has been a significant pioneer in understanding the many modifications to Hsp70, a concept known as the “Chaperone Code.”

“We like to think of Hsp70 as a piano,” Truman says, “with each phosphorylation being a key on that piano. Pressing the keys in combination – adding a specific pattern of phosphorylations – produces a particular song.” Phosphorylation occurs when a phosphate group is added to a molecule.

“This is a unique way of looking at Hsp70,” he elaborates. “Our current mission is to decipher the regulation and role of the chaperone code.”

Cracking the chaperone code is no easy task, given the huge number of phosphorylations on Hsp70, with over 85 currently identified.

“Some are not easy to detect, and we don’t have a clear idea of what most of these modifications do or how they’re added or removed from the chaperone proteins,” he says. “That’s fascinating from a biological perspective generally. Chaperones are fundamental to life. On the other hand, we’re also interested in the connection between the chaperone code and human illnesses. We hope to generate new medicines that alter the code, stopping the chaperones from working in cancer cells, while enhancing their protein folding ability in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s or Huntington’s.”

Drawing From Diverse Fields

The lab’s research draws from the varied areas of protein biochemistry, molecular biology, quantitative proteomics (study of sets of proteins), systems biology, bacterial and yeast genetics, model structures, and cell culture technologies. The team, including graduate and undergraduate studies students, collaborates with colleagues from around the world and has published over 40 studies to share their research.

Truman works closely with Mehdi Mollapour and Dimitra Bourboulia of SUNY Upstate Medical University (Syracuse, NY) and other chaperone code pioneers to build a collaborative international community focused on the complex issue.

“In addition to Hsp70, there are similar kinds of modifications on all the chaperone machinery,” Truman says. “It’s a real galaxy of modifications. These modifications were originally identified as background noise in previous studies. Through our collaborations, we realized that there are hundreds of these modifications, and they’re dynamic and are critical to how all cells work.”

In 2020, the first virtual “International Symposium on The Chaperone Code,” organized by Truman, Mollapour and Bourboulia, drew over 300 attendees. They also host speakers monthly in an exciting virtual “chaperone code club” forum.

Closer to home, Truman is a member of the UNC Charlotte Genome Integrity Group, which studies how cells respond to DNA damage, alteration of which is a major hallmark of cancer. Core members include professors Christine Richardson, who is interim chair of the Department of Biological Sciences, Shan Yan, Kausik Chakrabarti and Junya Tomida. “Each member of the genome group works with different kinds of technology and organisms. We tightly collaborate with each other on several projects, and we’ve applied for grants together,” Truman says.

Truman joined the faculty at UNC Charlotte in August 2015. He had gained experience in postdoctoral positions at the University of Chicago, Boston University, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Sheffield University, UK after earning a doctorate in biochemistry at University College London, UK. He was promoted to associate professor with tenure in July 2021. He is a fellow of the Cell Stress Society and is a senior editor for the scientific journals Cell Stress and Chaperones and Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences.

Words and Images: Lynn Roberson, CLAS Communications Director | Image of lab team members on the steps: Courtesy of Andrew Truman

For over a decade, researchers and students in UNC Charlotte’s Center for Metamaterials have studied and created materials that can bend, absorb, transmit, and otherwise manipulate light and sound waves that pass through them.

“The capabilities of these engineered materials are enormous,” said Ish Aggarwal, center director. “These materials can suppress or amplify light and sound waves. Once developed, these materials could even hide an aircraft in the sky just as you would see in science fiction movies.”

Generally speaking, metamaterials are specially engineered materials with properties that differ substantially from those found in nature.

In recognition of innovative collaboration with industry and government partners in metamaterials research, the UNC Charlotte center has joined a select handful of Industry/University Collaborative Research Centers (I/UCRCs) nationwide to earn a third phase of National Science Foundation (NSF) funding. The NSF support for administering the center is expected to total $250,000 over the next five years.

Researchers, students, and industry and government collaborators in the UNC Charlotte center focus primarily on sensing, imaging, antennas and energy harvesting. Plans call for new research in medical and acoustic metamaterials.

The research considers a broad range of commercially relevant applications that can help address problems in renewable energy, transportation, avionics, consumer electronics, homeland security and defense, health, and medical technology, communications, and other areas. Several specific applications developed in the UNC Charlotte center have transitioned to industry.

While considering the practical applications, the UNC Charlotte center also addresses foundational scientific questions related to the physical processes that occur when electromagnetic or mechanical waves interact with subwavelength-sized structures. A fundamental limitation of most metamaterials is that they are inherently narrowband, functional over a small range of frequencies. The challenge is to engineer material properties that are broadband, tunable, and able to be manufactured in a cost-effective way.

“The beauty of our program is that it takes advantage of the ingenuity and innovativeness of academia, combined with the engineering, fabrication, and implementation of industry,” Aggarwal said. Students and faculty at the University suggest the projects, and the collaborating industry and government partners select projects and fund the work.

The center receives strong support from industry and government partners through membership fees. The partners’ financial support typically goes toward student stipends and tuition, offering a valuable resource for the Optical Science and Engineering interdisciplinary doctoral program.

One of the doctoral students, Paige Stinson, who is currently an intern with center industry partner UC Conec with support from the National Science Foundation, has gained expertise and relationships through the center.

“The center has provided me with the resources I need to accomplish the fundamental research goals of my Ph.D. while allowing the creative flexibility to simultaneously explore my interests and present new ideas,” Stinson said. “The cleanroom facilities which we have access to in the center are the foundation of my current research, particularly our Nanoscribe. Perhaps even more impactful, the center has allowed me to have a direct relationship with not only fellow researchers in the center but also with industry leading companies and government research labs.” A Nanoscribe is a 3D printer for objects with dimensions of one billionth of a meter.

Graduate and undergraduate students conduct research with guidance from faculty and center members. Students, many of whom come from under-represented groups in science and engineering, are prepared as highly skilled scientists and engineers. One of the biggest advantages for the partners is the ability to assess and hire students working with the center.

Another doctoral student, Micheal McLamb, has learned to focus his research to address real-world problems through direct interaction with center partners.

“These collaborators follow your work through the years and know your name,” McLamb said. “Student involvement with the Center enhances the desirability and chances of employers hiring a student pending graduation. Currently, I conduct research on reflective and absorbing metamaterials. I am collaborating with several scientists from Air Force Research Labs (AFRL) on a couple of projects involving these materials. This collaboration has also led to a paid internship with AFRL funded by the National Science Foundation.”

For these students and others, the collaborative research has led to co-authored publications, including in the journals Optics Letters, Thin Solid Films and Plasmonics.

“It is largely because of the hard work of our faculty directing this center, both now and in the past, and because of our relationships with our partners, that we have been able to achieve this milestone with the continued NSF support,” said Glenn Boreman, chair of the Department of Physics and Optical Science. “We have a very talented set of faculty participants from the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and the Lee College of Engineering in particular.” 

Leadership in the center in addition to Aggarwal includes co-director Tino Hofmann and founding director Michael Fiddy, all faculty in the Department of Physics and Optical Science in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. Also partnering with UNC Charlotte is Clarkson University as an affiliated site.

Words and Photos: Lynn Roberson | Graphics: Ashley Plyler | Top Image: Doctoral students Paige Stinson (seated) and Micheal McLamb conduct research in the cleanroom.

Levine Scholar Andrea Badillo-Pérez will pursue her passion for service as she heads to New York University Grossman School of Medicine with full funding, after receiving acceptances from 10 top-rated medical schools. Badillo-Pérez earned bachelor’s degrees in biology and psychology in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and a minor in public health in the College of Health and Human Services.

In addition to NYU Grossman School of Medicine, she was accepted to:

• Harvard Medical School
• Columbia University School of Medicine
• University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
• Duke University School of Medicine
• University of Virginia School of Medicine
• UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine
• University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
• Yale University School of Medicine
• Georgetown University School of Medicine

Badillo-Pérez was involved with a number of campus organizations, including Health Care Justice at UNC Charlotte, of which she was co-founder and president; and Special Olympics College, of which she was president. She held teaching assistantships in psychology and chemistry, was an Executive Committee Member with the​ Levine Scholars Program, and studied abroad in South Africa and Spain.

She held internships with Lily’s Angels Down Syndrome Awareness Foundation and Charlotte Community Health Clinic, and was a medical interpreter at clinics for people who are low-income. She developed a pediatric gastroenterology cooking class at Levine Children’s Hospital, coordinated a service trip to Puerto Rico, and was a community resource hub developer at Clinton Chapel in collaboration with Biddle Point Clinic and Atrium Health.

She conducted and presented research into:

• Causes and Current Interventions Methods of Gender-Based Violence in South Africa
• Evaluating the Implementation of a Food Pharmacy to Address Acute Food Insecurity
• Effects of Perceived Stress Reactivity and Locus of Control on Reward Based Eating Drives – Psychology Lab
• Investigating the Effects of Socioeconomic Status and Locus of Control on a Guided Imagery Healthy Eating Intervention: Honors Thesis in Psychology

Badillo-Pérez shares thoughts about her UNC Charlotte experiences.

Why did you choose UNC Charlotte?

I chose UNC Charlotte because I was gifted with the opportunity to be part of the Levine Scholars Program (LSP). The LSP at UNC Charlotte utilizes an unmatchable combination of pre-professional, service-oriented, and hands-on experiences that each build upon one another to create leaders of change and hope in whatever field scholars decide to explore. This was an opportunity I could not pass up – the opportunity of a lifetime I am so grateful to have accepted.

What hurdles or difficulties have you had to overcome?

While my time at UNC Charlotte is filled with fond and positive memories, one difficulty I had when moving to Charlotte from Puerto Rico is finding hispanic friends to connect with. I did feel lonely/homesick during my first year, but I quickly got immersed in student orgs and my scholarship program and found much social support from both.

What are your UNC Charlotte highlights or favorite memories?

Bonding with other pre-medical or biology students in my classes was a huge highlight for me during my time at UNC Charlotte. My classes were always filled with brilliant and diverse students that I could connect with and learn from, especially during challenging courses such as organic chemistry or eukaryotic microbiology. Another highlight would be the beautiful campus that UNC Charlotte has. I loved taking walks on campus, especially to the Botanical Gardens, and I truly felt lucky to take classes, learn, and grow as an individual in such a beautiful place.

My biggest highlight would be the community I found within the Levine Scholars Program. What is most special about the LSP in my eyes is without a doubt the opportunity it gives you to grow alongside people who might have entirely different academic interests, but with the same omnipresent purpose to serve the greater good. Being surrounded by such amazing people, being guided by caring mentors in my departments, and doing it all in such a special campus are memories I will always cherish.

Who are faculty or staff members who had an impact on you – and why?

1. Dr. Diane Zablotsky: Dr. Z was so much more than just the director of LSP. She was my ally and my support system whenever I needed it the most. Her door was always open to me, and she helped me make so many important decisions about my career trajectory throughout my time at UNC Charlotte.

2. Dr. Elizabeth Hanie: Dr. Hanie was another super supportive mentor throughout my premedical journey. I am appreciative of the fact that her door was always open for me and that we connected as early as my first semester at UNC Charlotte to make sure I maximized my time here as a pre-medical student.

3. Dr. Sara Levens: Dr. Levens was an amazing research mentor. She taught me so much about the field of Psychology and I greatly admire her research experiences and projects that she has let me work on with her. She was also so much more than that, and deeply cared about my decisions regarding my future career and other opportunities that I was presented with during my time at UNC Charlotte.

4. Dr. Matthew Parrow: Dr. Parrow was an AMAZING professor. His class was so entertaining and his passion for teaching resonated with each and every student in our class. He was always available to us, encouraged us to challenge ourselves, and supported us every step of the way. His class was truly a special one and one of my highlights during my time at UNC Charlotte. He was become an important mentor of mine since then, having written a letter of recommendation for me and keeping up with all my post-grad decisions. I deeply appreciate having met Dr. Parrow, having witnessed his love for teaching and commitment to his students, and having had his support both academically and personally.

What advice do you have for the next group of UNC Charlotte students?

My advice would be to maximize your time at UNC Charlotte. Become as involved as you can. Join student organizations, make an effort to form friendships in your classes, go to professors’ office hours to learn more from them, and be grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow in this university.

Read more about Badillo-Pérez’s experiences as a Levine Scholar.

A dozen UNC Charlotte students, faculty and staff joined other volunteers on Sunday, April 25 to install Barton Creek Greenway Native Meadows, a community native plant project in University City. They worked to install 25 varieties of plants, for a total of 250 plants, to beautify the area and to provide education to people who want to use native plants.

Lead partners in the effort are University City Partners, UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens and the North Carolina Native Plant Society’s Southern Piedmont Chapter. Students with the UNC Charlotte Pollinator Club volunteered on Sunday with the planting.

The native plants meadow will provide a unique experience along the one-mile greenway trail. University City Partners approached leaders with the Botanical Gardens, asking them to bring their extensive expertise “out” into the community. UNC Botanical Gardens staff designed the project, acquired the plants, and helped to coordinate volunteer efforts. The Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department owns the property.

“The Botanical Gardens and Native Plant Society are committed to protecting the ecosystem through the use of native plants in this project,” says Ed Davis, horticultural supervisor and landscape architect with the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens.

“Native plants are better for the environment and local pollinators, and they are beautiful as well,” Davis said. “We hope that visitors will be inspired by the Barton Creek Native Meadows and incorporate native plants in their own home landscapes and gardens. We are appreciative of the opportunity to work with University City Partners on this project.”

For the UNC Charlotte Pollinator Club, students saw the experience as a great opportunity to extend their mission, said Carrie Wells, club advisor and lecturer in ecology and conservation biology in the Department of Biological Sciences. “We had several folks present at the greenway planting on Sunday from the Pollinator Club, including our vice president, Rachel Magallon, our treasurer Abby Richardson, and a member of the club, Zan Atwell,” Wells said. “We are trying to participate in more community events to increase our impact on helping native pollinators on and around the UNC Charlotte campus. We will be planting at the Jamil Niner Student Pantry as well.”

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and all its challenges for students, 16 undergraduate scholars have found a supportive research home in Chemistry Professor Dan Rabinovich’s lab group. They are among the 144 undergraduates that Rabinovich has mentored throughout his 25 years at UNC Charlotte.

“I have also mentored several visiting undergraduate students from other institutions – and about 50 high school students – and that brings the “big total” to about 250 undergraduate and high school students advised in research during the past 25 years,” Rabinovich says. “I think it’s worth mentioning that I couldn’t have possibly done it all by myself, and I have tremendously benefited from the help of 33 students who were pursuing master’s degrees and have worked in my lab over the years.”

For these significant – and long-standing – contributions to the professional development of undergraduates, and in honor of his own research, Rabinovich has received the top award presented by the American Chemical Society each year to a researcher who mentors undergraduate scholars in an outstanding manner. Research Corporation for Science Advancement sponsors the award.

“I like the challenge of designing projects that can be carried out by students conducting research on a part-time basis, because they are usually full-time students and have many other obligations,” he says.

Colleagues commend Rabinovich for challenging students to conduct innovative research, publish their work in scientific journals, and present their work at conferences.

“I have attended research presentations that many of his undergraduate students have made at regional and national ACS meetings, with more than 240 total student presentations from his research group,” says Gregory J. Grant, Grote Professor Emeritus at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. “These presentations have always been excellent, and you can clearly see that Dan has prepared them very well. I have been amazed at the quality of inorganic research that Dan has been able to achieve with his high school students.”

Whether it is to show someone how to use a Schlenk line, analyze the carbon-13 NMR spectrum of a new compound, or discuss an unexpected X-ray structure, it gives him great joy to work with students in the laboratory, Rabinovich says. “When I see a student solve a problem that I considered particularly difficult or carry out an experiment that I thought might not work, I am motivated to push students and myself even further,” he says.

In non-pandemic times, Rabinovich would have joined colleagues in San Antonio, Texas this month for the spring 2021 national ACS conference, where he would have received his award at a black-tie event with what was sure to be thunderous applause. Instead, with the shift to a virtual conference, he delivered an award address via Zoom on Friday, April 9 with the hopes of an in-person ceremony in the fall.

In his usual fashion, rather than show disappointment about a postponed ceremony, Rabinovich chose to see the silver lining. He is proud that his former students organized a symposium in his honor during the virtual conference. Alison Fout ’04, who earned a master’s degree at UNC Charlotte and is now a professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, took the lead on the symposium.

“I’m super excited about the symposium because participants ranged from former students to Nobel Laureate Roald Hoffmann,” Rabinovich says. “These are all people who I admire and respect.”

Among the alumni participating in addition to Fout were Lizeth (Hernandez) Mendez ’14, ’16, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at UNC Charlotte and started her work with Rabinovich as a high school student; Sam Kyran ’10, who earned a bachelor’s degree at UNC Charlotte and a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University; and Sophie Whitmeyer, who did research in his lab as a high schooler during the summers of 2014 and 2015 and is now pursuing a Ph.D. degree in chemistry at the University of Chicago.

Rabinovich earned a doctoral degree from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree from Catholic University in Peru. He was a post-doctoral fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and as a faculty member has been a Fulbright Scholar, an IUPAC Young Observer, a Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar, and recipient of the Stanley C. Israel Award for his efforts to advance diversity in the chemical sciences.

The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Research Corporation for Science Advancement, the American Chemical Society’s Petroleum Research Fund, and the National Science Foundation have supported his recent research.

Founded in 1876 and chartered by the U.S. Congress, the ACS is one of the world’s largest scientific organizations with more than 155,000 members in 150 countries.

Words: Lynn Roberson, CLAS Communications Director | Images: Lynn Roberson, Wade Bruton and courtesy of Dan Rabinovich

The Personally Speaking published experts series in its 11th season looked at drones, cats, and Africa. Three UNC Charlotte scholars/researchers in 2020-2021 talks discussed books they have written and how they came to write them during the annual series presented by UNC Charlotte’s College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, J. Murrey Atkins Library, and The Dubois Center at UNC Charlotte Center City. 

“We offer this series to engage the community in conversations about relevant topics considered in books written by our faculty,” said Nancy A. Gutierrez, dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. “Not only is this a way for us to connect with the community, but it also is a way to share knowledge and spark discussion.”

Due to uncertainties related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the events in the 2020-2021 season were virtual presentations, with opportunities for online engagement by the audience from around the world with the authors. Films of the talks are available on the College’s YouTube channel.

James Igoe Walsh presented on Wednesday, September 30, 2020 on his book, Drones and Support for the Use of Force, which he wrote with co-author Marcus Schulzke.

Combat drones offer an unprecedented ability to reduce the costs of conflict by increasing accuracy, reducing the risks to civilians, and protecting military personnel from harm. The advantages should make drone strikes more popular than operations involving ground troops. Yet many critics believe drone warfare will make political leaders too willing to authorize wars, weakening constraints on the use of force.

Walsh, a professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration in UNC Charlotte’s College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, was awarded the First Citizens Bank Scholars Medal for 2020. His research interests include armed conflict and civil wars and international security cooperation and conflict. His work has been published by Columbia University Press, the Journal of Conflict Resolution, International Studies Quarterly, among others. Walsh serves as Lead Principal Investigator on the U.S. Defense Department’s Minerva Research Initiative grant supporting a “Resources and Conflict” project. 

Co-author Schulzke is a lecturer in international relations at the University of York, United Kingdom.

Beth Elise Whitaker presented on Wednesday, October 28, 2020, on her book, Africa’s International Relations: Balancing Domestic and Global Interests, which she co-authored with John F. Clark.

Why do African leaders cultivate ties with some foreign powers and not others? How do civil conflicts in African countries at times expand to engulf entire regions of the continent? Why have leaders enhanced the capabilities of international organizations like the African Union while undermining the authority of bodies such as the International Criminal Court?

Whitaker is a professor and director of the honors program in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration in UNC Charlotte’s College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. As a Fulbright Scholar in Kenya in 2005-2006, she examined U.S.-African counter-terrorism cooperation. She also has done fieldwork in Tanzania and Botswana. More recently, with a U.S. Department of Defense grant, Whitaker and colleagues have studied how rebel groups’ illicit funding strategies influence the dynamics of civil conflict. Whitaker worked previously at the Brookings Institution and the American Council on Education.

Co-author Clark is a professor of politics and international relations at Florida International University.

Gregory J. Gbur presented on “Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics” on Tuesday, February 23, 2021.

The question of how cats always land on their feet has long intrigued humans. Attempts to understand the cat righting reflex have provided crucial insights into puzzles in mathematics, geophysics, neuroscience, and human space exploration. There is an explanation, but the finer details still inspire heated arguments. And, as with other cat behavior, the more we investigate, the more surprises we discover.

Gbur is a cat parent. He also is a physicist who specializes in the study of classical coherence theory in optical physics and a professor in the Department of Physics and Optical Science in UNC Charlotte’s College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. Gbur runs two different blogs about science and other topics: Skulls in the Stars: The intersection of physics, optics, history, and pulp fiction, and Science Chamber of Horrors: Presenting the freakiest and most terrifying aspects of science, scientists, and nature- currently on hiatus.

UNC Charlotte Professor Emeritus Nickolas (Nick) M. Stavrakas, 74, passed away on March 24, 2021 at Atrium Health University City following a sudden illness. Stavrakas was a professor and administrator in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics for 43 years before retiring in 2015. He served as associate chair for the department in the early 1990s.

Stavrakas was dedicated to UNC Charlotte throughout his career and was also a university alumnus and Charlotte native. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from UNC Charlotte and played on the men’s basketball team in the 1960s before earning master’s and doctoral degrees in mathematics from Clemson University.

He made clever contributions to mathematics, including convexity theory, throughout his career, which continued after his retirement. Some of his geometric insights made contributions, in collaboration with other colleagues, to other areas such as infinite dimensional topology and general topology.

Colleagues describe Stavrakas as a kind and creative person who worked efficiently, running all things smoothly and with a smile. He saw the best in the department and was a tireless supporter of the faculty and its mission. Some of his most important contributions were connected with the department’s effort to develop and launch the Ph.D. program in mathematics. That program was one of the initial three Ph.D. programs UNC Charlotte was authorized to offer.

His roots in Charlotte and his life-changing experience as an undergraduate at UNC Charlotte fostered a special commitment to the university – his university – shaped his contributions over 40 years on the faculty, colleagues say.

His obituary is available through McEwen Funeral Service at Sharon Memorial Park.

Chemistry undergraduate Terawit Kongruengkit and political science alumnus Anthony Lindsay each will receive a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation. They are among just 12 percent of applicants selected nationwide this year for the highly competitive honor.

In addition to these College of Liberal Arts & Sciences students, two William States Lee College of Engineering students, Forest Atcheson and Christopher Neff, are among the 2,000 students selected from more than 16,000 applicants this year.

Kongruengkit, a member of Professor Jordan Poler’s research group in the Department of Chemistry, is expected to complete a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in spring 2021, with a minor in physics. Kongruengkit plans to enter a doctoral program in materials science and engineering in the fall. His fellowship research will focus on magnonic and magnetic materials research. Magnonic devices hold promise in the fields of space exploration, instrumentation, computing devices and others, through wave-based computing.

Lindsay earned a bachelor’s degree in political science with honors in 2018 and conducted research with UNC Charlotte political scientists Beth Whitaker, Cherie Maestas, and James Walsh. Lindsay is pursuing a doctoral degree in political science at UNC-Chapel Hill, where he was awarded the North Carolina Excellence Fellowship. His NSF fellowship will enable construction of a conflict forecasting engine that he anticipates can help predict interstate conflict, domestic conflict and rare events, such as protests, riots, terrorist attacks, and regime shifts.

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited U.S. institutions.

Fellows benefit from a three-year annual stipend of $34,000 along with a $12,000 cost of education allowance, opportunities for international research and professional development and the freedom to conduct their own research at any accredited U.S. institution of graduate education they choose.

Images: Courtesy of Terawit Kongruengkit (left) and Anthony Lindsay (right.)

UNC Charlotte researcher Rosario Porras-Aguilar is fascinated by light, inspired by its beauty and its usefulness. Specifically, she focuses her pioneering research on how light can enable more accurate quantitative data in fields ranging from microbiology to high-tech manufacturing.

To support her research, Porras-Aguilar this spring received a coveted National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) Award. “By the end of this project, we will have developed theoretical models and experimental probes of a SMART imaging system,” Porras-Aguilar says. “SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Accurate, Reconfigurable, and real-Time imaging systems.”

CAREER awards are the NSF’s most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization. Porras-Aguilar’s anticipated funding is $500,000 through 2026.

Also this spring, she received a 2021 Cottrell Scholar Award, one of 25 outstanding teacher-scholars in chemistry, physics, and astronomy chosen in the United States and Canada. Research Corporation for Science Advancement provides the $100,000 awards, which also offer opportunities for future funding and collaboration on projects with potential national impact.

Broadly speaking, Porras-Aguilar’s Active and Reconfigurable Optics Laboratory conducts research focused on developing microscopy techniques to obtain quantitative data in three dimensions with applications in microbiology and industry.

“My long-term goal is to enable smart imaging systems with reconfigurable capabilities to detect and measure objects that are hard to visualize,” she says. “Examples include transparent cells in biological samples or monitoring small temperature changes in tiny regions of materials for nuclear decay tests.”

Research Holds Important Implications For Medical Diagnoses

In microbiology applications, the research promises the enabling of quantitative observations to provide more accurate and earlier diagnoses of disease. Her research anticipates that automated, speedier and more accurate diagnoses will dramatically improve advances and outcomes in microbiology, personalized medicine, pathology, visual optics, brain imaging and other medical and biological fields.

“One critical challenge in microbiology and pathology is the need for quantitative methods to monitor biological samples,” she says. “Currently, we can use fluorescence microscopy to label and enhance specific areas of interest, but it is time-consuming, costly, and sometimes unreliable. Other cell parameters are currently estimated by the naked eye, leading to imprecise and slow studies.”

A new generation of reconfigurable imaging systems will permit sample analysis automation, she says.

Smart imaging and optical metrology can also impact ultra-precision manufacturing industries. “This research on optical materials is expected to contribute to the development of imaging technology that will significantly impact manufacturing industries, such as the freeform optics industry and additive manufacturing technologies, which will, in turn, promote the economic growth of the United States,” she says.

The applications also can impact national security, and productivity, such as through more effective ways to harness “big data” using artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms. Porras-Aguilar is co-principal investigator for several research projects with the Center for Freeform Optics and the Center for Precision Metrology.

Porras-Aguilar’s fascination with light began years ago, by looking at the stars at night.  “Professionally, my interest in optics began during my master’s in astronomy studies when I learned about telescopes that can compensate for the deformation in images induced by changes in the atmosphere,” she says.

She completed her doctoral studies in optics science at the National Institute in Astrophysics, Optics, and Economics. “I found myself learning about intriguing liquid crystal materials,” she says. “With these materials, it is possible to control light and open doors to applications, including microscopy.”

Seeking a CAREER Award appealed to Porras-Aguilar not only because of its potential to fund her research; she also was drawn by its emphasis on educating future generations.

“I have always been passionate about research and education,” she says. “Since the first time I learned about this award, I saw it as an opportunity to consolidate my career and open doors to younger generations of scientists.”

Porras-Aguilar feels the sense of trust that comes along with being selected for a CAREER award. “I highly appreciate the vote of confidence given to me by the National Science Foundation, UNC Charlotte, and the Department of Physics and Optical Science,” she says. “It is not only motivating but also a commitment to excellence and integrity.”

Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration Helps Advance Research

She specifically credits mentors in her department with helping her advance her research, including department Chair Glenn Boreman, and more recently, longtime researcher Michael Fiddy, as well as UNC Charlotte Research and Economic Development’s Catalyst bootcamp and collaborators across the University.

“Collaboration is crucial in my research because it is cross-disciplinary,” she says. “One part of my research has applications in the metrology of samples for the manufacturing industry and free-form optics. I collaborate with Dr. Konstantinos Falaggis from the Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Science Department on this subject. I also collaborate with Dr. Juan Vivero-Escoto from the Chemistry Department to use the imaging techniques that I develop to study biological samples.”

She also commends students for their involvement and their influence. “Students are key to our scientific productivity because teamwork is essential to achieve our goals,” she says. “It is gratifying as a mentor to see students mature and contribute with new ideas and findings.

Porras-Aguilar has long embraced diversity and inclusion efforts, committing time and leadership with SPIE, its Women In Optics initiative and other efforts. Convinced that outreach activities can convey a message with gender equality, she was the official advisor of the SPIE Women in Optics Chapter at INAOE in Puebla, Mexico and continued to advise the student chapter until August 2018, despite her relocation to UNC Charlotte in 2017.

“Diversity and excellence are crucial to advance any field, and particularly science,” she says. “If science is benefited, humanity is benefited as well. Unfortunately, many populations are underrepresented in STEM areas. These underrepresented groups are the ones that face social and/or economic disadvantages.”

Her CAREER project includes an educational component centered on students and diversity. The work will include hands-on research and mentoring experiences in physics and photonics for high-school students and teaching strategies to foster the curiosity and talent of undergraduates, especially those from groups traditionally underrepresented, including Hispanics and women.

Porras-Aguilar plans to collaborate with the Center for STEM Education at UNC Charlotte, the LatinX/Hispanic Faculty Staff Caucus at UNC Charlotte, and the Physics Undergraduate Mentoring Program (PUMP) from the Department of Physics and Optical Science.

“Visibility and mentoring are the two proven solutions that have been reported in various studies to break the stereotype of a scientist in STEM areas,” she says. This commitment is key to her research and to her passion for sharing the light.

Words: Lynn Roberson, CLAS Communications Director | Top Image: Kat Lawrence, University Photographer | Other Image Courtesy of Rosario Porras-Aguilar