The Synapse

Season's Greetings!

As we are approaching the end of the fall semester 2022 and the upcoming winter break, I would like to express my gratitude for the commitment of our NAS faculty, staff, and the hard work of talented NAS students, and my appreciation for our engaged alum, advisory board members, and the friends of NAS programs, as well as the support by the university for our thriving NAS programs. I wish each of you a joyful and peaceful holiday season and a pleasant and safe winter break spent in the company of friends, family and loved ones.

“Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.”

Hamilton Wright Mabie

Share your news, photos, inspiring stories, and upcoming events for a future issue. Please send any feature suggestions to Bahram Roughani at broughani@loyola.edu

Physics senior Ashley Dwyer was named the Patriot League Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, in recognition for her achievements on the court and in the classroom.

Ashley, a physics major, and a minor in environmental and sustainability studies, was also a Hauber fellow in 2021. This fall two undergraduate student-athlete from Loyola earned the prestigious Patriot League sport's Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Ashley - star player of women volleyball team, and Paige Sim -- star goalie of the women's soccer team. Both amazing student athletes also participated in Hauber summer research program during summer 2021. Ashley's Hauber project was on "Measuring and Modeling the Temperature Dependence Optical Absorption in Thulium-doped YAG". Her Hauber research work led to being one of the four student co-authors with professor Ganem on a conference proceeding, “Modeling Temperature-Dependent Optical Absorption in Thulium-doped YAG,” Proc. SPIE 11997, Optical Components and Materials XIX, 119970S (2022). During summer 2022, Ashley was one of 13 students among more than 600 applicants for research grants at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa tasked with studying the composition of rain in the Pacific Ocean to understand precipitation patterns for various tropical regions. Ashley has been part of the CPaMS Scholars Program, a community for academically talented students majoring in Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Data Science, or Physics. She also participated in the second cohort of Haig Scholars Program, which recognizes selected number of NAS students each year for academic excellence and leadership accomplishments. Ashley's success has received the attention of various local mass media outlets such as the Baltimore Sun and Maryland News section of Local Today.

Dean's office currently is accepting proposals for the January deadline of the Dean’s Supplemental Fund. The links to the relevant Dean’s Supplemental Fund for both Tenured and Tenure Track faculty as well as teaching faculty are shown below. The deadline for submissions is January 11, 2023.

T/TT Faculty: https://loyola.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dcKd53P71upjS5M

Teaching Faculty: https://loyola.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bfTnVKciJjoGM5M

Each summer since 1988, a top-quality group of undergraduate NAS majors are selected as Hauber Fellows to conduct research with faculty mentors on projects in their area of interest during the summer. This 10-week prestigious summer research program is culminating with research presentations for the Loyola community, research posters, and scientific papers. Participation has been a pathway for many students to campus and national awards, publications, and admission to graduate programs. The fellowship carries a $5,000 stipend with discounted on-campus housing available with the possibility for applying for no cost housing. It runs from the first week of June through mid-August. If you are interested in applying, now is the time to identify faculty who may be interested in mentoring you this summer.

NAS faculty, if you are interested in mentoring a Hauber fellow this summer, please email your department chair and Sciences@loyola.edu with a brief description of your research interests.

For details and application, visit www.loyola.edu/hauber. Applications are due February 3, 2023, which is the 3rd Friday of the Spring semester.

The Haig Scholars Program is an academic excellence and leadership program for students majoring in Natural and Applied Sciences. The program recognizes the accomplishments of highly motivated students. Admission is competitive. Scholars are selected during the spring semester of their sophomore or junior year based on demonstrated academic achievement, leadership experience and potential, commitment to service, community engagement, and personal essay. Scholars will participate in the fall Haig Scholars seminar course which will have a strong emphasis on innovation and innovative mindset and incorporate guest speakers in leadership roles.

For a complete list of eligibility requirements and application, visit the Haig Scholars Program page and complete 2023 Haig Scholars Program Application

Haig Scholar 2022 cohort are shown in the group picture. If you are eligible to apply for Haig Scholars program and like to learn more about it firsthand from a former Haig Scholar, you may contact one of the Haig Scholars 2022.

Applications are due February 3, 2023, which is the 3rd Friday of the Spring semester.

Loyola’s National Fellowships Office has various opportunities for STEM sophomores and juniors including DAAD-RISE offering paid summer research internships in science and engineering in Germany, and the Goldwater Scholarship offering up to $7,500 in scholarship funds per year toward your remaining years of undergraduate study. For more information visit the National Fellowship web page or Contact the Director of National Fellowships, Dr. Ryan at tmryan@loyola.edu.

The video recording of the Fall Grand Seminar lecture as well as the videos of the previous Grand Seminar lectures are accessible through the Grand Seminar YouTube playlist.

For fourteen of our Loyola engineering juniors December 7, 2022 marks the last day to work on their Mars Rover Replicas project, which is the backbone of the newly offered course called Engineering Design Fundamentals. The course centers around taking an existing design and introducing a significant modification to add new capabilities. The basic platform is an open-source model of the Mars Perseverance rover (https://youtu.be/NOZZMsMAGh0). Learn more about the new junior engineering projects through the following link.

Members of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) student club are working on soldering some LCD displays for their next project. The results of this will be turned into a pop-up class to be presented during the Engineering week (February 19–25, 2023). Few of the IEEE student club members are shown in the following picture while they are working on soldering LCD displays.

The Bridge

Visit The Bridge for upcoming campus meetings and events.

Training and Development Opportunities for Employees and Students

OUTLoyola SafeZone Training

Green Bandana Brigade

Academic Calendar

• 2022-2023 Academic Calendar

Coronavirus Resources

• Loyola Coronavirus Updates - General university information for all students, faculty, staff including reopening plans, COVID-19 dashboard, FAQs, policies, and resources

Student Support Resources

• Counseling Center
• Campus Ministry
• Office of Student Life
• Center for Community, Service, and Justice

Employee Support Resources

• Human Resources website
• Employee Assistance Program
• Financial Crisis Assistance Program
• Employee Return to Work on Campus Guidelines & Training