Scholar Alumni

ARCS Scholar Alums, We’d Like to Hear from You!

You are a vital part of our mission. Your stories encourage current scholars and help us attract new funding for future scholars.

Stay involved with ARCS Foundation members and other scholars if you have moved to the Pittsburgh area or want to give back in any way, including speaking about your research at an ARCS Foundation event. Let us know how you would like to participate in carrying ARCS Foundation work into the future.

To notify the Pittsburgh Chapter that you are in the area, please email us at pittsburgh@arcsfoundation.org. To update your information, navigate to the Member & Scholar login. To learn more about speaking at or hosting an event, click here.

ARCS 2016 Scholar Alumni


Joseph Tassarotti Research: Programming languages and formal certification of software in security and safety critical settings CMU - School of Computer Science	Momin Malik Research: Computational analysis of social systems, integrating social science, especially around the study of networks CMU - School of Computer Science	Devin Griffith Research: Synthetics, optimization and control of large-scale chemical processes CMU - Chemical Engineering

Daniel Gingerich Research: Innovation and impelemtation of new treatment technology in drinking water CMU - Carnegie Institute of Technology	Clay Long Research: Applied physics and nanofabrication CMU - Carnegie Institute of Technology	Michelle Guaragno Research: Biomimetic research focused on developing single-walled carbon nanotube as a membrane transport Pitt - Department of BioEngineering

Victoria Corbit Research: systems neuroscience focused on cortical/sub-cortical networks involved in motor control Pitt - School of Medicine	Jennifer Boatz Research: Sudying the structure of protein aggregates that form in the brain of indivi- duals with neurodegenerative disorders Pitt - School of Medicine	Joseph Schneiderwind Research: Acoustics Penn State - Graduate Program in Acoustics

ARCS Scholar Alum Spotlight - Melissa Day

Melissa writes, “I can’t believe it’s been six whole years since I became an ARCS scholar!” Melissa was the recipient of the Dr. Arnold O. Beckman Award for the first three years of her doctoral degree at the world-renowned Chemical Engineering program at Carnegie Mellon University from 2009-2012. She has recently completed her PhD and will be an AAAS Fellow this coming September while working at the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Center for Environmental Research in the Air, Climate, and Energy Research Program. She says, “I’m very excited!”

During her time at Carnegie Mellon as an ARCS scholar, Melissa published three papers “to investigate how climate change may impact the air quality in the Eastern United States.” Her first paper, Predicted Changes in Summertime Organic Aerosol Concentration Due to Increased Temperature, which can be found at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1352231011008521, “shows that the climate change response of natural or biogenic emissions may be more important than temperature changes alone.” A second paper, Effects of a Changing Climate on Summertime Fine Particulate Matter Levels in the Eastern U.S., shows “the very complex results of changing every meteorological factor at once.” It can be found at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2014JD022889/full. Melissa also shared a third paper, Evaluation of the Ability of the EC Tracer Method to Estimate Secondary Organic Carbon, which she says, “I was able to use my air quality model to evaluate how accurate an emissions measurements technique was that experimentalists use in the field, and provide some suggestions to increase its accuracy.” Her overall thesis is available online at http://gradworks.umi.com/36/90/3690564.html.

Currently, Melissa is continuing her work with the local chapter of Engineers Without Borders. She spoke about her work building a potable water pumping system for a rural community in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador at prior ARCS events. She is pleased to report that it “was completed in January 2012 and has been functioning well since then.” She recently traveled back to the same community to help install two latrines and a handwashing station. She says, “We were pretty successful.” A time lapse video of the progress is available at https://youtu.be/mxSex0V2U4E. Melissa is organizing the fundraiser Whiskey for Water for Engineers Without Borders which will be held on July 22 at Wigle Whiskey Barrelhouse on the Northside. More information can be found at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/whiskey-for-water-a-fundraiser-for-engineers-without-borders-pittsburgh-tickets-17428083868.

ARCS Scholar Alum Spotlight - Bart Roland

Bart was an ARCS scholar at Pitt from 2008 to 2011. He wrote to us, "I just wanted to give you and the other ARCS folks a heads up that some of my thesis work will be released soon in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Cell Science."

ARCS Scholar Alum Spotlight - Elisabeth Gilmore

In 2004, Elisabeth Gilmore was the first and sole recipient of a Scholar Award from the ARCS Foundation - Pittsburgh Chapter. She now holds a dual PhD in Engineering and Public Policy and Chemical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. Her dissertation work evaluated the costs, air quality and human health effects of distributed electricity generation.

Following a post-doctoral position at the Climate Decision Making Center at CMU, Elisabeth was selected as a Science and Technology Policy Fellow through the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Washington, DC, where she worked on the quantification of benefits and avoided risks of different climate scenarios in the Climate Change Division at the Environmental Protection Agency.

In the fall of 2011, Elisabeth accepted an assistant professor position in the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, College Park. She will be focusing on energy and environmental policy. Before her doctoral studies, she worked at the International Peace Research Institute in Oslo, Norway (PRIO). This work resulted in two widely cited publications on the links between diamonds and civil conflict. She also holds a Masters and Bachelors in Chemical and Environmental Engineering from the University of Toronto.

To read more about Elisabeth's research, click here.

Pittsburgh ARCS Scholar Alums

ARCS Pittsburgh Scholar alums continue to make their mark on the scientific world. We are proud of their accomplishments.

Name	Field of Study
Prince Awuah	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2008-2010 University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Berook Alemayehu	Burke-Harter Award 2009 University of Pittsburgh, Swanson School of Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Courtney Andersen	The Woodard-Ryan Award 2013-2015 University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, Interdisciplinary Biomedical Graduate Program
Armen Arevian	Thomas W. and Carol K. Henderson Family Fund of the Pittsburgh Foundation 2006-2008 Carnegie Mellon University, Mellon College of Science University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Center for Neuroscience, Biological Sciences
Kristen Balogh Leslie	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2008-2010 University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
David Bamman	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2011-2013 Carnegie Mellon University, Computer Science/Language Technologies Institute
Brian Becker	Westinghouse Electric Company Award 2007-2019 Carnegie Mellon University, School of Computer Science, Robotics
Jennifer Boatz	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2013-16 University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine
Shawn Burton	Hans and Leslie Fleischner Award (III) 2011-2013 Carnegie Mellon University, Department of Biological Sciences
Chase Hetherington Butler	Hans and Leslie Fleischner Award 2008-2010 Carnegie Mellon University, Mellon College of Science, Inorganic Chemistry/Astronomy
Anny Caceres	Joy-Linhart Award 2010-2012 University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine
Peter Chapman	The Kirwin-Leckey Award 2013-2015 Carnegie Mellon University, School of Computer Science
Mahlon Collins	Huntington-Testoni Award 2009-2011 University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Center for Neuroscience
Sarah Cook	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2009 University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Center for Neuroscience
Whitney Coyle	The Bennett-Coppersmith-Palmer Award 2010-2012 Penn State University, Graduate Program in Acoustics
Victoria Corbit	The Beukema-Wainwright-Wood Award 2013-16 University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine
Amy Dale	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2011-2013 Carnegie Mellon University, Engineering and Public Policy, College of Engineering
Melissa Day	Dr. Arnold O. Beckman Award 2009-2011 Carnegie Mellon University, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Chemical Engineering Department
Mark DeBlois	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2008-2010 Carnegie Mellon University, Mellon College of Science, Biological Sciences, Neuroscience
Andrew DeYoung	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2010-2012 Carnegie Mellon University, Mellon College of Science, Chemistry Department
Thomas C. Diaz	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2006 Carnegie Mellon University, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Mechanical Engineering
Michael H. Dinitz	Vicki and Tom Griffin Award 2005-2007 Carnegie Mellon University, School of Computer Science, Computer Science
Gabriella Engelhart Farnham	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2005-2007 Carnegie Mellon University, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Chemical Engineering
Denver Faulk	The Stockman-Paul Award 2011-2013 University of Pittsburgh, Bioengineering, Swanson School of Engineering
Samantha Finkelstein	Hans and Leslie Fleischner Award (IV) 2011-2013 Carnegie Mellon University, School of Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction Institute
Denise M. Finney	The Maureen Emily Ryan Award 2010-2012 Penn State University, Department of Biology
Robert Fisher	The Fine Foundation Award 2009-2011 Carnegie Mellon University, School of Computer Science, Machine Learning Department
Katherine Fu	Lawrence J. Rhoades Memorial Award 2007-2009 Carnegie Mellon University, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Mechanical Engineering
Elisabeth A. Gilmore	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2004-2006 Carnegie Mellon University, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Engineering
Kevin Gimpel	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2006-2008 Carnegie Mellon University, School of Computer Science, Computer Science, Language Technologies Institute
Daniel Gingerich	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2013-16 Carnegie Institute of Technology, Engineering and Public Policy
Alysha J. Grenko	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2006-2008 Carnegie Mellon University, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Materials Science & Engineering
Devin Griffith	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2013-16 Carnegie Institute of Technology, Chemical Engineering
Michelle Guaragno	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2013-16 University of Pittsburgh, Department of BioEngineering
Meredith Hanlon	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2010-2012 Penn State University, Department of Biology
Katharine Harris	The Beukema-Carrow-Wainwright Award 2010-2012 University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine
Nydiaris Hernandez-Santos	Gookin Family Foundation Award 2008-2010 University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Lindsey Hines	Highmont Foundation Award 2008-2010 Carnegie Mellon University, School of Computer Science, Robotics
Lauren Jackson	Jeanne Berdik Founder Award 2009-2011 Carnegie Mellon University, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Materials Science and Engineering Department
Rachel Jackson	The Berdik-Elliott Award (III) 2011-2013 Carnegie Mellon University, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Tom Jackson	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2013-2015 Carnegie Mellon University, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Megan Jamiolkowski	Westinghouse Electric Company Award 2010-2012 University of Pittsburgh, Swanson School of Engineering, Department of Bioengineering
Whitney Lane	The Jeanne Berdik Founder Award 2013-2015 University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, Interdisciplinary Biomedical Graduate Program
Adam Large	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2011-2013 University of Pittsburgh, Center for Neuroscience
William Levine	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2009-2011 Carnegie Mellon University, Mellon College of Science, Department of Physics
Clay Long	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2013-16 Carnegie Institute of Technology, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Peter Lund	The BNY Mellon Award 2013-2015 Carnegie Mellon University, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Department of Biomechanical Engineering
Momin Malik	The Gookin-Stockman Award 2013-2016 Carnegie Mellon University, School of Computer Science
Douglas Marvel	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2009-2011 University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Immunology Program
Michael McCann	The Roy and Susie Dorrence Award 2010-2012 Carnegie Institute of Technology, Biomedical Engineering Department
Michelle Messmer	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2008-2010 University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Robert Matthew Miller	The Burke-Harter Award 2011-2013 University of Pittsburgh, Bioengineering, Swanson School of Engineering
Callie Norris	McCague-Munchmeyer-Ragni Award 2009-2011 University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Interdisciplinary Biomedical Program
Austin Nuschke	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2011-2013 University of Pittsburgh, Interdisciplinary Biomedical Graduate Program, College of Medicine
Stephen Oney	Heitzenroder-Stockman-Woodward Award 2008-2010 Carnegie Mellon University, School of Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction Institute/Astronomy
Nick Pavlovsky	The Abraham-Martin-Ragni Award 2013-2015 University of Pittsburgh, Swanson School of Engineering
Laura Radville	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2013-2015 Penn State University, Department of Ecology
Andrew Rape	Carol and Richard Heppner Award 2008-2010 Carnegie Mellon University, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Biomedical Engineering
Katharine Ricke	Abraham-Wainwright Award 2007-2009 Carnegie Mellon University, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Engineering & Public Policy
Bartholomew Roland	Granito-M. Ryan Award 2008-2010 University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Joseph Schneiderwind	The Bennett-Coppersmith-Palmer Award 2013-16 Penn State University, Graduate Program in Acoustics
Julia Schwarz	The BNY Mellon Award 2009-2011 Carnegie Mellon University, School of Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction Institute
Nathaniel Shank	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2007-2009 Carnegie Mellon University, Mellon College of Science, Chemistry
Manya Sleeper	The Thomas W. and Carol K. Henderson Family Fund Award 2010-2012 Carnegie Mellon University, School of Computer Science
Robert Smith	MSA Charitable Foundation Award 2008-2010 Carnegie Mellon University, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Chemical Engineering
Stephen Spagnol	PPG Industries Award 2010-2012 Carnegie Institute of Technology, Chemical Engineering Department
Kathleen Spees	Berdik-Elliott Award 2005-2007 Carnegie Mellon University, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Engineering & Public Policy
Lauren Strahs	The Heppner-Testoni-Young Award 2013-2015 Carnegie Mellon University, Charnegie Institute of Technology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Enrique Suarez	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2008 Carnegie Mellon University, Mellon College of Science, Physics, Radio Astronomy
Brooke Sullivan	The Fine Foundation Award 2013-2015 University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, Interdisciiplinary Biomedical Graduate Program
Tyler Tarr	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2010-2012 University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, Center for Neuroscience
Joseph Tassarotti	The Susan and Roy Dorrance Award (II) 2013-2016 Carnegie Mellon University, Computer Science Department
Christopher Thawley	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2011-2013 Penn State University, Ecology Intercollege Graduate Program, Huck Institute of the Life Sciences
James Arthur Tolbert II	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2007-2009 Carnegie Mellon University, School of Computer Science
Jason Tsay	Catalyst/Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2010-2012 Carnegie Mellon University, School of Computer Science
Daniel J. Wendlandt	Hans and Leslie Fleischner Award 2005-2007 Carnegie Mellon University, School of Computer Science
David Whitney	Pittsburgh Chapter Award 2007-2009 Carnegie Mellon University, Mellon College of Science, Biological Sciences
Jessica Wilson	Berdik-Elliott Award 2008-2010 Carnegie Mellon University, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Christopher Wirth	PPG Industries Award 2007-2009 Carnegie Mellon University, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Chemical Engineering

Scholar Alumni

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Joseph Tassarotti

Momin Malik

Devin Griffith

Daniel Gingerich

Clay Long

Michelle Guaragno

Victoria Corbit

Jennifer Boatz

Joseph Schneiderwind