WKU News

Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky students are ready to engage in face-to-face summer opportunities after two years of virtual or modified experiences.

“In addition to prestigious research internships through the National Science Foundation (NSF) and internships through The Gatton Academy’s summer research program, the Gatton Research Internship Grant, this summer features virtual and face-to-face study abroad opportunities,” says Cheryl Kirby-Stokes, Academic Opportunities Coordinator at The Gatton Academy.

National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)

The NSF funds many research opportunities for undergraduate students through its REU Sites program. An REU Site consists of a group of ten or so undergraduates who work in research programs of the host institution. Each student is associated with a specific research project, working closely with faculty researchers. Students are granted stipends, housing, and travel. The following students were selected for prestigious NSF REUs: 

Flora Lin will be participating in research at Columbia University in New York City, N.Y.

Natasha Otieno will be working in the Sciolino lab at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, analyzing neuromodulatory brain circuits to identify motivated behaviors and how that's related to reward and feeding.

Eric Xing will be part of the Machine Learning + Security Research at Penn State in State College, PA. He will be studying the application of novel machine and deep learning techniques to the Authorship Attribution and Obfuscation problem with Dr. Dongwon Lee and Dr. Thai Le.

Gatton Research Internship Grant

In its 13^th year, the Gatton Research Internship Grant program creates summer research opportunities for rising seniors. The grants provide stipends, living expenses, and a small supplies fund for projects at WKU. Sixteen students were chosen for summer 2022, conducting research at WKU and other institutions across the country.

Chezney Booth (’23, Hazard HS) will use diagnostic methods to detect nucleic acids by engineering DNA-binding proteins. She will be working with Dr. Moon-Soo Kim in WKU’s Chemistry Department.

Jiali Graham (’23, Model Laboratory School) will be investigating the effect of aging upon the visual perception of object size. She will be working with Dr. Farley Norman in WKU’s Department of Psychological Sciences.

Hank Helmers (’23, Danville HS) will be conducting an empirical study on financial literacy and social media users. He will be working with Dr. Jonathan Handy in WKU’s Department of Finance.

Siheon Im (’23, South Warren High School) will be looking at ATP(ase) effects on Drosophila air sac primordium. He will be working with Dr. Ajay Srivastava in WKU’s Biology Department.

Hadley Jones (’23, Central Hardin HS) will be working with specialized binding proteins used as biomarkers for diagnoses and investigation. She will be working with Dr. Moon-Soo Kim in WKU’s Chemistry Department.

Sean Korner (’23, duPont Manual HS) will be using machine learning to find a specific metal organic framework which can be used to convert carbon dioxide into water. He will be working with Dr. Bangbo Yan in WKU’s Chemistry Department.

Hannah Laney (’23, Paul G. Blazer HS) will be looking at the synthesis of 4D and 5D transition metal oxides. She will be working with Dr. Jasminka Terzic in WKU’s Department of Physics and Astronomy.

Caden Lucas (’23, Breckinridge County High School) will be identifying teaching innovations within model entrepreneurial programs. He will be working with Dr. Whitney Peake in WKU’s Department of Management.

Divya Naidugari (’23, Randall K. Cooper HS) will be looking at regenerative biology in the context of follicle regeneration. She will be working with Dr. Sarah Millar at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai in Manhattan, N.Y.

Brian Nguyen (’23, South Warren HS) will be devising a differential mathematical model determining the best method to chain specific reactions together. He will be working with Dr. Brenda Rubenstein in Brown University’s Department of Chemistry in Providence, RI.

Gabriel Nowaskie (’23, Bardstown HS) will be using machine learning to find a specific metal organic framework which can be used to convert carbon dioxide into water. He will be working with Dr. Bangbo Yan in WKU’s Chemistry Department.

Kareena Pansuria (’23, South Warren HS) will be developing a polymer to mimic nature’s building blocks, for example, collagen. She will be working with Dr. Benjamin McDonald in Brown University’s Department of Chemistry in Providence, RI.

Kellen Patterson (’23, South Warren HS) will be producing polymer beads incorporated with photocatalysts, which degrade pollutants in aquatic environments. He will be working with Dr. Matthew Nee in WKU’s Department of Chemistry.

Maria Pfeifer (’23, Owensboro Catholic HS) will be comparing the executive function of women 18+ who are and are not on birth control. She will be working with Dr. Stephen Sammut in Franciscan University’s Department of Psychology in Steubenville, OH.

Jonathon Reilly (’23, Central Hardin HS) will be involved with programming a virtual reality experience that can be applied to various disciplines. He will be working with Dr. Jeffrey Galloway in WKU’s Department of Computer Science.

Carolina Wheeler (’23, Greenwood HS) will be involved with programming a virtual reality experience that can be applied to various disciplines. She will be working with Dr. Jeffrey Galloway in WKU’s Department of Computer Science.

Gatton Sponsored Internship Program

The Gatton Sponsored Internship Program works with Kentucky businesses and organizations interested in a tax-deductible, private-public partnership with our program. The businesses and organizations provide a project-based summer internship to a Gatton Academy student.

Wood Hudson Cancer Research Laboratory  will host Brody Johnson (’23, Edmonson County HS).

Experiences Abroad

National Security Language Initiative-for Youth (NSLI-Y)

NSLI-Y scholarships from the U.S. Department of State fund students for six to eight weeks of summer intensive study and immersion in a critical language. The programs are typically carried out through immersive study abroad, with participants taking intensive language courses, living with a host family, and visiting sites of cultural significance in their host nation. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, some summer 2022 programs are occurring virtually through online summer intensives. Programs in Taiwan and those for Russian and Arabic studies will include the traditional study abroad immersion this summer. The following students received NSLI-Y Scholarships for summer language study.

Krishna Angal (’23, North Oldham HS) will continue Arabic study this summer in Rabat, Morocco.

Anna Crimmins (’23, Beechwood HS) will continue Arabic study this summer in Marrakesh, Morocco.

Gabriel Fortier (’23, LaRue County HS) will continue Russian study in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Emma Harris (’22, Hickman County HS) will continue Chinese study by spending an academic year in Taiwan.

Hank Helmers (’23, Danville HS) will continue Chinese study this summer through NSLI-Y’s virtual program.

Kole Ingram (’22, Knott County Central HS) will continue Arabic study in Amman, Jordan.

Holly McClure (’23, Russell County HS) will continue Chinese study this summer in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Elizabeth Mikeworth (’22, Rockcastle County HS) will continue Chinese study this summer in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Quinn Miller (’23, Hopkinsville HS) will continue Chinese study this summer through NSLI-Y’s virtual program.

Reagan Phelps (’23, Bardstown HS) will continue Russian study in Narva, Estonia.

Samirah Salifu (’22, Greenwood HS) will continue Arabic study this summer in Rabat, Morocco.

Nathaniel Turlington (’22, Central Hardin HS) will continue Russian study in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Sophie Wielawski (’23, Allen County Scottsville HS) will continue Russian study in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Study Abroad in England

After a two-year hiatus due to COVID, The Gatton Academy is returning to our partnering with Harlaxton College in Grantham, England to offer a three-week study abroad program focused on British Literature. The following students will be taking the course with Drs. Dawn Hall and Ted Hovet of the WKU Department of English:

• Nishu Anekere (’23, Conner HS)
• Thorin Bowman (’23, Bardstown HS)
• Scarlett Compton (’23, Belfry HS)
• Elliot Crouch (’23, Walton Verona HS)
• Rasesh Desai (’23, Eastern HS)
• Sierra Durkee (’23, Greenwood HS).
• Coral Ghrist (’23, Oldham County HS)
• Jiali Graham (’23, Model Laboratory School)
• Matthew Hendrix (’23, Daviess County HS)
• Erika Hoppes (’23, Marion County HS)
• Brody Johnson (’23, Edmonson County HS)
• Abby Jones (’23, South Warren HS)
• Lila Jones (’23, Owensboro HS)
• Sean Korner (’23, duPont Manual HS)
• Dana Le (’23, East Carter County HS)
• Gavin Mattingly (’23, Doss HS)
• Izzy McIntosh (’23, Campbell County HS)
• Alex Minter (’23, Bowling Green HS)
• Lee Monroe (’23, Spencer County HS)
• Saibra Moore (’23, Lawrence County HS)
• Lauren Morris (’23, Frederick Douglass HS).
• Divya Naidugari (’23, Randall K. Cooper HS)
• Gabe Nowaskie (’23, Bardstown HS)
• Olufemi Obielodan (’23, Frankfort Christian Academy)
• Neel Patel (’23, LaRue County HS)
• Joaquin Pauig (’23, Corbin HS)
• Maria Pfeifer (’23, Owensboro Catholic HS)
• Blair Pickle (’23, Rockcastle County HS)
• Abigail Portmann (’23, BAVEL Virtual School)
• Naman Rao (’23, South Laurel HS)
• Trinity Ray (’23, Livingston Central HS)
• Jonathon Reilly (’23, Central Hardin HS)
• Zach Romero (’23, Lafayette HS)
• Ellen Sego (’23, Central Hardin HS)
• Xavier Simpson (’23, Hancock County HS)
• Albert Terry (’23, Carlisle County HS)
• Mia West (’23, Lawrence County HS)
• Carolina Wheeler (’23, Greenwood HS)
• Marissa Xia (’23, South Warren HS)

Other Notable Individual Experiences

Nikhil Akula (’22, Western Hills HS) will be interning at the Kentucky Public Protection Cabinet in Frankfort, KY in the technology department. He will also be volunteering as an Assistant Coach for the Bondurant Middle School academic team.

Peyton Ash (’22, South Oldham HS) will be working as a camp counselor at Camp HiHo in Louisville, KY.

Aathman Bhavaraju (’23, Western Hills HS) will be conducting research virtually with Dr. Mustafa Atici in the WKU Computer Science Department.

Chezney Boothe (’23, Hazard HS) will be participating in the Markey Cancer Center's Appalachian Career Training in Oncology (ACTION) Program. Activities include wet and dry lab research, clinical observation, and educational and professional development workshops.

Thorin Bowman (’23, Bardstown HS) will be competing in the Congressional App challenge, as well as helping build a community outreach program for the Bethany Haven Shelter and Bread for Life food pantry in Bardstown, KY.

Madisyn Braden (’23, Graves County HS) will be job shadowing a Speech Pathologist at a local nursing home in Mayfield, KY.

Drake Calhoon (’23, Calloway County HS) will be shadowing a local dentist's office in Murray, KY, competing at the International Future Problem Solving Conference at the University of Massachusetts—Amherst, and volunteering as an Assistant Coach for Calloway County Middle School academic team.

Molly Clements (’22, Beechwood HS) will be working as a camp counselor for the WKU Center for Gifted Studies.

Katie Compton (’22, Belfry HS) will be job shadowing at Pikeville Medical Center in Pikeville, KY.

Scarlett Compton (’23, Belfry HS) will be volunteering at Nova Pharmacy in Pikeville, KY.

Keegan Congleton (’22, Trimble County HS) will be continuing his work with bee propagation and continuing a tree reforestation project from his Doctors Mody Microgrant through the WKU Center for Gifted Studies.

Katie Dudgeon (’23, Grayson County HS) will be part of the Governor’s Scholars Program and participating in the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s (NRECA) Washington Youth Tour in Washington, D.C.

Sierra Durkee (’23, Greenwood HS) will be conducting biophage research with Dr. Rodney King in the WKU Biology Department.

Connor Flick (’22, Conner HS) has a software development internship at Meyer Tool in Cincinnati, OH and will also be managing operations for the Kentucky Student Voice Team in Lexington, KY.

Pranav Gangumolu (’23, duPont Manual HS) will be volunteering as a debate coach for Louisville area middle schools.

Coral Ghrist (’23, Oldham County HS) will be conducting bioinformatics virtual research with Dr. Chandrakanth Emani in the WKU Biology Department.

Caitlin Haden (’23, North Oldham HS) will be participating in a conservation-focused program through Thomas More University in Crestview Hills, KY.

Jacob Harris (’22, McCracken County HS) will be a Team Leader at Camp Invention, a STEM summer camp for students K-6, in Paducah, KY.

Leah Hartman (’22, Allen County Scottsville HS) will be conducting research with Dr. Ivan Novikov in the WKU Physics Department. She will be looking at real-time solar flare predictions, as well as working with stochastic resonance and its applications to mechanical systems.

Nathan Hogg (’23, Rowan County HS) will be interning at Bit Source LLC in Pikeville, Kentucky as a software development intern, participating in the University of Kentucky's Appalachian Career Training in Oncology (ACTION) Program, and working under Dr. Hunter Moseley of the University of Kentucky Cellular and Molecular Biochemistry Department. He will also begin working on his project for the Congressional App Challenge.

Addison Hoskins (’23, Harrison County HS) will be job shadowing at UK Healthcare in Lexington, KY and Harrison Memorial Hospital in Cynthiana, KY, as well as volunteering at Arbor Youth Services in Lexington, KY.

Siheon Im (’23, South Warren HS) will be participating in the Governor’s School of the Arts in Lexington, KY.

Hadley Jones (’23, Central Hardin HS) will be volunteering at the Buddy House in Bowling Green, KY.

Dunil Kasturiratna (’23, Campbell County HS) will be conducting research about time series using R with Dr. Ngoc Nguyen in the WKU Mathematics Department.

Chris Kim (’23, Greenwood HS) will be participating in the seven-week Brevard Music Festival program. He will also be taking part in Summer Strings Institute held at Western Kentucky University, as well as conducting weekly string lessons for middle and high school students.

Sahil Krishnani (’22, duPont Manual HS) will be publishing his third app, Bag It Up, from his time at the Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs. The app aims to reduce food waste globally.

Flora Lin (’23, Glasgow HS) will be working with Chinese immigrants through the Chinese Progressive Association, getting them ready for the citizenship exams.

Sarisha Lohano (’22, Kentucky Country Day) will be working as a scribe at Premier Primary Care in New Albany, Indiana.

Caden Lucas (’23, Breckinridge County HS) will be part of the Henry Clay Center High School Student Congress, volunteering throughout the Commonwealth through the Kentucky YMCA Youth Association Y-Corps, as well as being a part of the National YMCA Youth Governor’s Conference, working as an intern for Congressman Brett Guthrie in Bowling Green, KY, and re-opening his car detailing business, Caden’s ProGarage, in Harned, KY.

Claire Lusk (’22, Randall K. Cooper HS) will be interning at the Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Cincinnati, OH, as well as conducting research with photophobias. She will also be volunteering for the Randall K. Cooper High School Drama Club.

Donovan Marcum (’22, Oldham County HS) will be participating in a finance internship with Rawlings Company in LaGrange, KY.

Brennan McElfresh (’23, East Jessamine HS) will be a technology intern at Sherman Carter Barnhart, as well as a STEM tutor at East Jessamine HS.

Diego Moreno (’23, Elizabethtown HS) will be attending the U.S Naval Academy Seminar in Annapolis, MD, focusing on cyber security, nuclear engineering, and aerospace.

Aubrey Morse (’23, Graves County HS) will be job shadowing at Baptist Health Paducah, KY.

Yasmina Muradova (’22, Muhlenberg County HS) will be part of WKU’s State Registered Nurse Aide certification training program, as well as volunteering at Owensboro Health Muhlenberg Community Hospital.

Marcus Negron (’22, Western Hills HS) will be a camp counselor for Gear Up Kentucky Summer Academy at Morehead State University in Morehead, KY.

Brian Nguyen (’23, South Warren HS) will be participating in the 6-week PROMYS program at Boston University.

Olufemi Obielodan (’23, Frankfort Christian Academy) will be analyzing telescope data from South Africa with Dr. Charles McGruder in the WKU Physics Department.

Jarrett Packwood (’23, Atherton HS) will be participating in the University of Cincinnati’s College of Engineering and Applied Science camp, as well as working as a camp counselor at Camp Piomingo in Meade County, KY.

Neel Patel (’23, LaRue County HS) will be interning at the County Attorney’s Office in Hodgenville, KY.

John Patton (’23, Great Crossing HS) will be conducting research at the University of Kentucky with Dr. Savio Poovathingal in the College of Engineering. They will be using a supercomputer to look into the effects of doubling computer processing power and how doing so affects the amount of workload that can be performed.

Cristina Pauig (’22, Corbin HS) will be volunteering at Saint Joseph Hospital in London, Kentucky.

Joaquin Pauig (’23, Corbin HS) will be volunteering at Saint Joseph Hospital in London, Kentucky.

Anish Penmecha (’22, Western Hills HS) will be volunteering at the Frankfort Regional Medical Center.

Abigail Portmann (’22, BAVEL Virtual School) will be working at Goodlettsville Animal Hospital in TN.

Armaan Rai (’23, Trinity HS) will be interning at the University of Louisville Cardiovascular Innovation Institute and shadowing various doctors within the University of Louisville's hospital system.

Haven Romero (’22, Lafayette HS) will be participating in the eight-week University of Louisville Cancer and Health Disparity Summer Bridge Internship.

Lucy Rosys (’22, Piarist HS) will be volunteering at Pikeville Medical Center in Pikeville, KY and shadowing the surgery department at Pikeville Medical Center.

Ellen Sego (’23, Central Hardin HS) will be working at Newton’s Attic STEM camp for youth in Lexington, KY.

Seren Semrau (’22, South Oldham HS) will be working at the Oldham County Main Branch Library.

Samuel Sherrard (’23, East Carter County HS) will continue his research with Dr. Thomas Gross in the WKU Psychology Department, looking at how different classroom factors influence student success.

Kimberly Turner (’22, Greenwood HS) will be a camp counselor the WKU Center for Gifted Studies summer programs and will be volunteering in Dr. Noah Ashley’s lab in the WKU Biology Department.

Bhavya Vyas (’22, duPont Manual HS) will be a math instructor for the Russian School of Mathematics in Louisville, KY.

Promise Willhite (’22, Logan County HS) will be working at the Logan County Animal Clinic in Russellville, KY and participating in the Upward Bound Bridge Program.

Mason Woolridge (’23, Western Hills HS) will be conducting virtual research with Dr. John Wright in the WKU School of Teacher Education helping students with disabilities learn how to code. He will also be pursuing virtual research with Dr. Ozkan Ozer in the WKU Mathematics Department.

About The Gatton Academy: Established in 2007, The Gatton Academy is Kentucky’s first residential two-year program for gifted and talented juniors and seniors. The Gatton Academy’s students enroll as juniors and are full-time WKU students pursuing their interests in advanced science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The Gatton Academy has been named to Jay Mathews’ list of top-performing schools with elite students for eleven consecutive appearances and received the National Consortium for Secondary STEM School’s Innovation Partnership Award.