By Erin Cushing
While academic excellence is nothing new at Mason, two Mason students recently have gone above and beyond everyday scholastic achievement, receiving national recognition from professional organizations in their fields.
Senior Gabriel Lewis won a $5,000 grant. Photo courtesy of Gabriel Lewis
Senior Gabriel Lewis, a systems engineering major in the accelerated BS/MS systems engineering program, was awarded the 2011 INCOSE/Johns Hopkins University/Applied Physics Laboratory Alexander Kossiakoff Scholarship Award.
The scholarship, which is awarded by the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), recognizes and rewards students engaged in promising research in applied science systems engineering in a master’s or doctoral program. The award includes a $5,000 grant and an optional paid internship at Johns Hopkins University Applied Science Laboratory (APL) working on systems engineering problems.
This is the third year the scholarship has been provided, and is the second time it has been awarded to a Mason student. Colin Mullery, another Mason BS/MS systems engineering student, won it in 2010.
“I am very honored and humbled to have received the JHU-APL Alexander Kossiakoff scholarship,” says Lewis. “I’m especially grateful to Dr. Sam Seymour [of the Systems Engineering Program at APL], whose inspiration and assistance since being awarded the scholarship have been very valuable. I’d also like to thank the faculty of the Systems Engineering and Operations Research Department at Mason, whose rigorous teaching has enabled me to compete successfully in professional arenas.”
Senior Diego Torrejon, a mathematics major, was selected for an Outstanding Presentation award at the 2012 Joint Mathematics Meetings, held in Boston Jan. 4-7. Torrejon presented his poster “An Analytical Approach to Solving Green Oxidation Processes” in the Mathematical Association of America Undergraduate Poster Session on Jan. 6.
Senior Diego Torrejon with his poster presentation in Boston. Photo courtesy of Diego Torrejon
Torrejon also participates in the National Science Foundation’s Computational Science Training for Undergraduates in the Mathematical Sciences (CSUMS) program. The CSUMS program helps prepare students for graduate work and careers in computational sciences by fostering opportunities for undergraduate research and study. The research presented in his award-winning poster was completed in this program with the help of Maria Emelianenko, assistant professor of mathematical sciences.
“I am grateful to my mentor, Dr. Emelianenko, for her guidance throughout the project,” says Torrejon. “I am also thankful for the support and advice provided by the program coordinators, Dr. Tim Sauer and Dr. Evelyn Sander. I will strive to earn more research awards to contribute to Mason excellence in the future.”