Archived News

Archived News: 2011-2019

2019

ERN Advisory Board Members Dr. Wilson-Kennedy and Dr. Grant Receive Distinguished Awards at the NOBCChE Conference

Three NOBCChE award recipients were announced recently. These awards represent NOBCChE’s most prestigious awards, each named after a prominent black chemist/chemical engineer. Dr. Zakiya Wilson-Kennedy, Dr. Paula Hammond and Dr. Christine Grant will be some of the individuals recognized for their contribution to the chemical sciences.
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ERN Conference Lead Wins National HBCU Education Award!

Dr. Iris Wagstaff ’96 was awarded the 2019 HBCU Alumni of the Year Award from the DC Metro HBCU Alumni Alliance Award for her work in STEM Education. The DC Metro Alumni Alliance Award was presented to her at the 3rd Annual HBCU Alumni Black-Tie Gala held at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC. This gala was created to celebrate the history, legacy, and community involvement of HBCU alumni. The honorees are those who have had a significant impact on their community and in their careers.

You can read the full release here.

Conference Highlights Innovative Work of Emerging Researchers

Communicating the value of their work, cultivating personal interests and forging new connections pave the road for emerging researchers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics to thrive in degree programs and the global STEM workforce, said speakers at an annual conference for undergraduate and graduate students in STEM.

The Emerging Researchers National Conference in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (ERN), held in Washington, D.C., on February 21-23, 2019, hosted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the National Science Foundation’s Division of Human Resource Development, provides STEM students, especially underrepresented students such as African Americans, Hispanics, Latinos, American Indians, Alaska Natives and those with disabilities, opportunities to hone critical skills necessary to advance their scientific careers.

Now in its ninth year, the annual conference held in February in Washington, D.C., underscored “the breadth and depth of areas that your STEM background can be applied to, to solve some very complex and challenging real-world problems,” Iris R. Wagstaff, a AAAS STEM program director and program lead for the ERN Conference, said to participants.

More than 1,300 participants attended the conference, most students who represented more than 250 colleges and universities, including 51 historically black colleges and universities.

Read the complete AAAS news story written by Andrea Korte.

Tuskegee Students Honored at Emerging Researchers National STEM Conference

Tuskegee University was well-represented at the recent Emerging Researchers National Conference in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in Washington, D.C. The annual conference seeks to help undergraduate and graduate students enhance their science communication skills and to better understand how to prepare for science careers in a global workforce.

In addition to providing students with professional development that enhances their classroom studies, the conference provides students with a forum to compete in several different poster and oral presentation categories.

To learn more about the participants and WINNERS, please access the complete article here.

2018

Entomology Professor Mentors Summer Interns to Awards, Success

After participating in the Penn State Summer Research Opportunities Program, students from Virginia State University presented award-winning lectures at the Emerging Researchers National Conference in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics held in Washington, D.C., on February 22-24, 2018.

Read the complete news story from Penn State News.

Hartnell Student Goes from Sleeping in Car to Ivy League internships

After eight years at Hartnell College, some personal challenges and a hefty amount of perseverance, Salinas native Louis Romero looks forward to contributing to the advancement of science after graduation.

It has been a long road, but 29-year-old Romero is proudly ending his tenure at the community college this semester with several unique academic accomplishments: an internship completed with Harvard, an upcoming internship at Yale, and a recent first-place finish at a National Science Foundation’s Emerging Researchers National Conference

In February, Romero received first place in the Nanoscience and Physics poster presentation at the 2018 ERN Conference in Washington, D.C.

Read the complete article from The Californian, written by Cristian Ponce.

Response to Caribbean Storms Offers Lessons on Resiliency, Opportunity

Hurricanes that devastated areas of the Caribbean last fall impeded science research and teaching, but new networks for aiding colleagues and new avenues for research have emerged from the response efforts, according to several speakers at a recent conference co-hosted by AAAS.

The 2018 Emerging Researchers National (ERN) Conference in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, was held in Washington, D.C., from Feb. 22-24.

In a plenary talk, Juan Ramírez Lugo, assistant professor of biology at the University of Puerto Rico’s Río Piedras campus and president of the AAAS Caribbean Division, detailed the effects of Hurricane Maria on scientific research and teaching in the Caribbean.

Read the complete AAAS news story written by Andrea Korte.

UVI STEM Students Win National Awards at 2018 ERN Conference

Three University of the Virgin Islands undergraduate students emerged victorious after their presentations were judged at the Annual Emerging Researchers National (ERN) Conference in STEM on February 22–24, 2018, at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington D.C. Nineteen UVI students were among the over 800 students that attended from colleges and universities across the country.

Read the complete article from The Virgin Islands Consortium.

ASU Student Wins First-Place Prize at National Scientific Conference

Terrell Hilliard, an Alabama State University master of science candidate in biology, and a National Institute of Health scholar, took home a first-place prize for his research at the 2018 Emerging Researchers National (ERN) Conference in Washington, D.C.

“It was an honor and pleasure for me to attend the ERN conference and present my work. Winning first-place meant the world to me because I worked and studied hard for my presentation,” Hilliard said. “I practiced and rehearsed before I boarded the plane, during the plane ride and even afterward while at the hotel. Winning first-place really solidified in my mind that hard work does pay off.”

Read the complete ALABAMANEWS.net article written by Jonathan Thomas.

STEM Academy Scholars and Faculty Attend Research Conferences

A delegation of STEM majors, faculty and administrators were active participants in the American Association for the Advancement of Science Emerging Research National Conference in STEM and the National Science Foundation (NSF) HBCU- Undergraduate Program Meeting recently.

Yari Mosley, a freshman biology major and STEM Academy Associate received a first place monetary award for her oral presentation on “Genetic Dissection of the Neural Circuit Underlying Cold Nociceptive Behavior.” UAPB STEM students presenting posters included Jasmine Johnson (Chemistry), Christina Moore (Biology), Mikiah Ballard (Chemistry), Mercedes Winfrey (Physics), Ryan Acker (Mathematics) and Aliyah Glover (Biology).

Read the complete UAPB News article.

UVI STEM Students Awards

Three University of the Virgin Islands undergraduate students took first place awards at the Annual Emerging Researchers National Conference in STEM in Washington D.C. Nineteen UVI students were among the over 800 students that attended the conference from colleges and universities across the country. The three students, from UVI’s College of Science and Mathematics, were Torhera Durand, Genique Nicholas and Quianah Joyce.

Read the complete Virgin Islands News Brief.

2017

AAAS NEWS: ERN Conference Brings Past and Present “Hidden Figures” to Light

Each year on the final night of the Emerging Researchers National (ERN) Conference in STEM, about 30 Ph.D.-level scientists and engineers who attended historically black colleges and universities as undergraduates line up on stage to introduce themselves and describe their current work. Seeing them, and hearing about their impressive achievements, often has a strong impact on current students, who may lack minority role models in STEM.

“It’s inspiring and hopeful to hear so many say ‘I was the first black Ph.D. to graduate in (blank) from (blank),'” one attendee tweeted from the conference, held 2-4 March in Washington, D.C.

Hearing the stories of African-American women who worked as “human computers” at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, as revealed in the book Hidden Figures and the subsequent hit movie, has had a similar effect. The book’s author, Margot Lee Shetterly, was part of a special panel at the conference.

Read the complete AAAS story here.

University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff STEM Academy Scholars and Faculty Attend Research Conferences

A delegation of STEM majors, faculty and administrators were active participants in the American Association for the Advancement of Science Emerging Research National Conference in STEM and the National Science Foundation (NSF) HBCU- Undergraduate Program Meeting recently.

Yari Mosley, a freshman biology major and STEM Academy Associate received a first place monetary award for her oral presentation on “Genetic Dissection of the Neural Circuit Underlying Cold Nociceptive Behavior.” UAPB STEM students presenting posters included Jasmine Johnson (Chemistry), Christina Moore (Biology), Mikiah Ballard (Chemistry), Mercedes Winfrey (Physics), Ryan Acker (Mathematics) and Aliyah Glover (Biology).

Read the complete UAPB News story here.

2016

AAAS NEWS: Mentoring Is the Key to Increasing Minority and Women’s Participation in STEM Education, Researchers Say at the Emerging Researchers Network Conference

Students who have mentors and the encouragement found at the Emerging Researchers Network Conference are more likely to continue in STEM education, research finds, making it especially important for underrepresented minorities and women.

Read the complete AAAS story here.

STEM Projects Take Two Native Students to DC

Washington, D.C., is a long way from South Dakota, but two high school students from the Rosebud Sioux Tribe made that trip in February thanks to their accomplishments in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.

Mahpiya Spotted Tail, a junior at Saint Francis Indian School, and Ben Whiting Jr., a senior at White River Alternative School, were invited to participate in the 2016 Emerging Researchers National Conference in STEM, sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the National Science Foundation.

Read the complete story here.

DSU Senior ‘Flies’ to Victory at Science Competition

First Place Winner at the ERN Conference in Washington, DC, Delaware State University senior Andrew Blake is looking for clues to a cure for Alzheimer’s – and a common household pest is helping him do it.

Read the complete story here.

Student Wins Top National Award for Forensic Research

Graduate student, Zahra Campbell, in ASU’s Forensic Science program recently earned a first-place award during a national research conference.

Read the complete story here.

Melisa Stewart Wins 1st Place at the Emerging Researchers National (ERN) Conference

CEES graduate student, Melisa Stewart, received the first place award for her oral presentation, Carbon Capture with a Novel Solid Adsorbent of Polyethyleneimine Impregnated Titanate Nanotubes, at the Emerging Researchers National (ERN) Conference in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) held February 25-27, 2016, in Washington, DC.

Read the complete story here.

Student from REU Project Wins Presentation at the Emerging Researchers National Conference

A student from last year’s REU project, Bethany Fronhofer, attended the 2016 Emerging Researchers National (ERN) Conference, where she spoke about the work that she did along with Sarah Schott in Dr. Idalis Villanueva’s lab.

Read the complete story here.

2015

Conference Provides Inspiration and Opportunity for Young STEM Researchers

More than 1,000 people from 240 colleges and universities attended the three-day annual conference, which was hosted by AAAS and the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Human Resource Development within the Directorate for Education and Human Resources. The ERN conference provides an opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students in STEM fields to enhance their science communication skills through poster and oral presentations judged by 140 scientists and engineers. Many of these judges are alumni of the David and Lucile Packard HBCU Graduate Scholars Program, the SACNAS Summer Leadership Institute, the L’Oréal For Women in Science postdoctoral fellows program, and the AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellows Program.

Read the complete AAAS story here.

MSU SROP Showcases Research at ERN 2015

Seven Michigan State University SROP alumni presented their research at the 2015 Emerging Researchers National (ERN) Conference in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), February 19-21, 2015, at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C. The ERN Conference continues to encourage undergraduate students to apply for advanced degrees to conduct original research on topics relevant to our nation’s needs.

Read the complete story here.

Undergraduate Researcher Wins Award

Sowda Ahmed, an undergraduate researcher working in the lab of Mark Schleiss, MD, Department of Pediatrics, was recently recognized at the Emerging Researchers National (ERN) Conference in STEM for her research on the development of a stable cytomegalovirus (CMV).

Ahmed, a sophomore majoring in Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, was chosen to present her research in the undergraduate biological sciences category. She was awarded second place for her poster presentation, which took place on February 20, 2015.

Read the complete story here

STEM Students Attend ERN Conference

Students from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff STEM Academy recently attended the Emerging Researchers National (ERN) Conference in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Read the complete story here.

2014

2014 ERN Conference in the News

Lafayette Frederick, Emeritus Professor of Biology, Tuskegee is featured in AAAS Member Spotlight.

Conference Videos: 2014 ERN Conference Keynote Videos

AAAS News: National Conference Shows Underrepresented Researchers Making Strides

AAAS News: Biotech Leader Inspires Students at Emerging Researchers Conference

University of the District of Columbia (UDC) Student Wins First Place in Oral Presentations at the Emerging Researchers National Conference

UDC student, Abdelhakim Ahmim, a junior in Electrical Engineering, has won first place in oral presentations (area of Technology and Engineering) at the Emerging Researchers National Conference, held in Washington DC from February 20-22, 2014.