Eleven Student Researchers Present STEM Findings

Eleven BMCC students took their turn at the front of a darkened classroom in Fiterman Hall on August 19, pointing to graphs and other visuals on a large, illuminated screen. The students were summarizing their research findings and year-long projects ranging in focus from metal-tolerant bacteria to suspension bridge dynamics. The students completed their projects under the close mentorship of a faculty researcher from BMCC or NYC City College of Technology (City Tech), and the projects were supported by the Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program (MSEIP), through the U.S. Department of Education. Math Professor Annie Han and Dean of Academic Affairs Erwin Wong are Principal Investigators on the three-year grant, which began in October 2014. Math Professor David Allen has served as Student Research Coordinator, recruiting both students and faculty for the project and overseeing the student research component. “Our current cohort of students across the STEM fields is quite talented,” says Allen. “Many have been invited to prestigious conferences across the country, including MathFest in Washington, DC, and are transferring to four-year schools. For example, one of our MSEIP students, Gentiana Rina, who worked with Math Professor Chris McCarthy, has been accepted into one of the top civil engineering programs in the country, at Georgia Tech.” McCarthy adds, “She built the bridge at home; she’s very motivated,” referring to Rina’s physical model of a suspension bridge, and her research linking the curve of cables strung across its length, to tension levels. The student presenters and their faculty mentors enjoyed a catered lunch together, and continued conversations started as they fielded questions from the group when they were on stage. Dean Wong as well as Provost Karrin Wilks joined the group and congratulated them on their work.   The student/faculty mentor teams included:   Mathematics major Ashlina Wang Mathematics Professor Ariane Masuda (City Tech) Newton’s Method and Fractals   Mathematics major Dominika Palinka Mathematics Professor Oleg Muzician Dynamics of Newton’s Method   Engineering Science major Gentiana Rina Mathematics Professor Chris McCarthy The Parabolic Cable and Suspension Bridge   Computer Science major Kan Xue Mathematics Professor Boyan Kostadinov (City Tech) Simulating the 19^th-Century Integraph Device   Engineering Science major Kateryna Zhdanova Science Professor Abel Navarro Enhancing the Adsortion of Copper Metal Ions by the Chemical Modifications of Solid Wastes   Science major Lionel Colon Science Professor Sarah Salm Isolation and Characterization of Heavy Metal-Tolerant Bacteria from the Newtown Creek   Science major Mike Cruz Mathematics Professor Boyan Kostadinov (City Tech) Simulating and Animating Spatial Interactions Between Species Living on a Torus with Given Population and Migration Dynamics   Science major Rahman Farhana Mathematics Professor Brett Sims A Mathematical Treatment of Social Aggregate   Science/Bioinfomatics major Tenzig Japhe Science Professor Abel Navarro Bio-Elimination of 2-Chlorophenol from Contaminates Solution Using Marine Algae   Engineering Science major Wei Liao Mathematics Professor Satyanand Singh (City Tech) The Kalman Filter   Engineering Science major Zhuo Yu Chen Mathematics Professor Lina Wu Projectile Motion