Two young women, both math majors, have won Clare Boothe Luce undergraduate research scholar awards. They will receive grants of $5,000 each to conduct 150 hours of research in the field of mathematics this summer.
Dr. Ryan Savitz, professor of mathematics, is the faculty mentor for Kourtney Kaelin and Kayla Maisch. He describes the CBL awards as “highly competitive.”
Kaelin, a junior, will work with Professor Savitz on research entitled "An Analysis of the Effect of the Covid-19 Pandemic on High School Students’ Mathematical Achievement." She will investigate how high school students’ mathematical achievement changed (or did not change) before, during, and after the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020 in Pennsylvania.
In research entitled "A mathematical investigation of the value of biodegradable prosthetic technology,"
Maisch will collect data on the relative costs, strengths, and times to decompose of several types of biodegradable and non-biodegradable prosthetic technologies. The sophomore will use the data to develop mathematical models which can determine the relative costs and benefits of both the biodegradable and non-biodegradable prosthetic technology categories.
"The CBL grants provide our math majors with the opportunity to do high level research over the summer,” Savitz notes. “In fact, Kayla's work from last summer has already been accepted for publication. These grants also provide our students with an extremely helpful financial incentive, which allows them to focus their time on academic studies.”
As a mentor, he finds that “It is also great fun and rewarding for me to work with these talented students."
According to the Luce Foundation website, the Clare Boothe Luce bequest provides support to women in STEM fields. The goal of the program is to close the gender gap in STEM disciplines and in higher education leadership roles.