2017-2018 Rising Stars Fellows Announced
WACO, Texas (November 28, 2017) – The Office of the Vice Provost for Research is pleased to announce the 2017-2018 class of the Rising Stars Fellowship program. Selected from nominations provided by their Deans, Rising Stars represent a wide range of disciplines, including the sciences, the arts and humanities and the professional schools. The fellows participate in an intensive mentorship program designed to provide them the skills needed to successfully pursue external research funding, produce scholarly publications and partner with collaborators across disciplines and at other academic institutions.
Rising Stars nominations are based on both research record and potential for recognition in his or her field of study. Faculty selected for the program are provided instruction and support in the development of proposals to be submitted to external funding sources, introduced to past Rising Stars cohorts to aid in the development of interdisciplinary research and introduced to external advisors who provide mentorship and information. The Vice Provost for Research, Dr. Truell Hyde, also offers each Rising Star the opportunity to travel to Washington, D. C, to meet personally with funding program managers to discuss their research and explore potential funding opportunities.
The 2017-2018 Rising Stars Fellows and their academic units are listed below:
- Matthew Andersson, Department of Sociology, College of Arts and Sciences
- Ashley Barrett, Department of Communication, College of Arts and Sciences
- Erik Blair, Electrical and Computer Engineering, School of Engineering and Computer Science
- Stephanie Boddie, Social Work, Diana R. Garland School of Social Work
- Corneliu Bolbocean, Economics, Hankamer School of Business
- Tomas Cerny, Computer Science, School of Engineering and Computer Science
- Elesha Coffman, History, College of Arts and Sciences
- James Fulton, Department of Geosciences, College of Arts and Sciences
- LesLee Funderburk, Family and Consumer Sciences, Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences
- Stephanie Gerow, Department of Educational Psychology, School of Education
- Debra Harris, Family and Consumer Sciences, Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences
- Chloe Honum, Department of English, College of Arts and Sciences
- Monique Ingalls, Academic Studies, School of Music
- Seung Kim, Electrical and Computer Engineering, School of Engineering and Computer Science
- Sunghwan Lee, Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering and Computer Science
- Kevin Magill, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, School of Education
- Eric Martin, Great Texts, Honors College
- Ashley Otto, Marketing, Hankamer School of Business
- Jani Parsons, Keyboard Studies, School of Music
- Jason Pitts, Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences
- Matthew Quade, Management, Hankamer School of Business
- Stacy Ryan, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, College of Arts and Sciences
- Alan Schultz, Department of Anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences
- Emily Smith, Health, Human Performance and Recreation, Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences
A new cohort of Rising Stars has been added to the program each year, since 2014. Dr. Hyde explains that previous participants are invited to act as part of the current Rising Stars program:
"Previous Risings Stars meet with each new group to act as mentors and establish connections for collaboration. They also help new faculty acclimate to the program by letting them know what to expect and how they can best benefit from the various opportunities provided. These kinds of interactions add an important layer to the mentorship that goes on within the academic departments."
Learn more about the 2017-2018 and prior year Rising Stars at: www.baylor.edu/research/rising-stars.
