St. Olaf students present research at national STEM conference

St. Olaf College students Guttu Maskalo ‘14, Lansa Dawano ‘14, and Carlos Rivera ‘15 are in Washington, D.C., this week to present their research at the Emerging Researchers National Conference in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

The conference, which runs from February 20 to 22, aims to help students enhance their science communication skills and better understand how to prepare for science careers in a global workforce. It is centered around student presentations, with workshops focused on strategies for success in graduate school, career preparation, and examining STEM careers in a global context.

Maskalo will present the work he did this summer alongside Associate Professor of Biology Kevin Crisp to develop a wireless probe for pacemakers. The research team — which also included Erick Marigi ’14 and Shane Allen ’14 — spent weeks hand-building tiny wireless probes that could replace the relatively clunky wires and batteries currently used in pacemakers.

Dawano will present the on-campus research she did as part of the TRiO McNair Scholars Program. Working alongside Professor of Biology Anne Walter and two other students, she helped reorganize the curriculum for the Student Support Services Summer Bridge program, which assists first-generation, low-income first-year students with the transition to college.

Rivera’s research looks at how DNA strands break down in various types of solutions. By figuring out what part of the DNA falls apart in reaction to what type of solution, Rivera can determine what section of the DNA contributes to the stability of the structure.

Rivera, a Beckman Scholar who will be attending the conference as a presenter for the second year in a row, says that last year’s gathering really helped him make connections and learn how to communicate with professionals.

“It’s one thing to email people, but to be able to to talk to them face-to-face is a different thing,” he says.

Both Maskalo and Dawano are part of the TRiO McNair Scholars Program and leaders of the NorthStar STEM Cohort, which Rivera is also a part of. All three students are part of the TRiO Student Support Services program.