Six students receive Sigma Xi Awards for 2019
Recipients of the Sigma Xi award receiving their grant awards.
Among Virginia Tech's many rich traditions is one of giving back to students involved in groundbreaking research. An old endowment from the Waste Policy Institute funds students through the campus chapter of Sigma Xi. Six students — two undergraduates and four doctoral students — received grants from this endowment. They were honored at the annual Sigma Xi induction ceremony on April 25.
The scholarship awards, totaling $8,000, are given each year to students whose research is deemed worthy of recognition and support.
Committee members this year were Kang Xia, Ann Sorenson, John Jelesko, Tammy Henderson, Jesse Radolinksi, and Lydia Patton.
Three runners-up were awarded induction into Sigma Xi along with the grantees at the induction ceremony. The runners-up were Lauren Wind, Dajun Yu, and Sheldon Hilaire.
Undergraduate awards were as follows:
Morgan Roth, entomology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences - Methods for controlling two European honey bee (Apis mellifera) pests: varroa mites (Varroa destructor) and small hive beetles (Aethina tumida).
Alex Norris, mining and engineering, Department of Mining and Minerals Engineering - Characterization of respirable coal mine dust by electron microscopy.
Doctoral awards were as follows:
Xianlin Zou, Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science - Distinct control of PERIOD2 degradation and circadian rhythms by the oncoprotein and ubiquitin ligase MDM2.
Qing Jin, Food Science Technology - Integrated processing and techno-economic evaluation of grape pomace for the production of value-added products based on the biorefinery concept.
Erin Heller, fisheries and wildlife, College of Natural Resources and Environment - An assessment of how prey may limit the Western Atlantic red knot (Calidris canutus rufa) and how these predator-prey interactions are influenced by island geomorphology and climate on Virginia’s barrier islands.
Sydney Hope, fisheries and wildlife, College of Natural Resources and Environment - Effects of the early developmental environment on physiology and behavior of wood duck ducklings.
Written by Tiffany Trent
