Welcome New Grand Challenges Initiative Fellows Meet our newest GCI Fellows!
September 20, 2021
Join us in welcoming our new Grand Challenges Initiative Fellows to Schmid College! Every Grand Challenges Initiative team is mentored by a Postdoctoral Fellow. Our fellows are world-class early-career teacher-scholars. They come from diverse research backgrounds, ranging from cancer genetics to atmospheric chemistry. What the Fellows all have in common is a desire to share their passion for science and engineering with students. We asked a few questions to get to know the new faculty about their research and hobbies!
Daniel Gardner
Current area of research
“I am currently researching peripheral-to-gameplay interfaces in digital games, and how different cultural values get baked into their designs. The broad social and personal consequences of the types of interfaces I look at (e.g., authentication, physical interfaces, avatar/character creation) exist in a variety of domains yet remain often overlooked in different digitally-focused disciplines. These interfaces have far-reaching outcomes for everyday transactions of privacy, identity, and accessibility. I became passionate about this topic out of frustration. I have always had a level of interest in how digital technologies mediate human relations with each other and the media we consume. During some of my earlier research, I kept coming up against a lack of previous literature upon which I could rely to make the arguments about this mediation I was wanting to make and shifted gears.”
What would you be if you weren’t a scientist?
“I’m not sure. I worked in Information Security for a long time, which is lucrative but soul-devouring. I worked in foodservice and retail, I have delivered phonebooks, shredded papers, painted a barn, camp counseled, and dive mastered for a living. In this economy, I would probably take what I can get, but hopefully something that didn’t put me in a cubicle again.”
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
“Just skate better.”
How do you like your coffee?
“Avoided.”
Mario Stipcic
Current area of research
“I am a mathematician working on research problems in harmonic analysis. During my senior year of college, I wanted to experience what it means to do research, apart from just studying and taking the exams. I decided to work on a scientific project that I could submit for a rector’s award at the university. I liked this experience and found the research topic very intriguing, so my interest in the harmonic analysis only grew afterward.”
What would you be if you weren’t a scientist?
“If I weren’t a scientist, I would probably be a programmer. As a kid, I dreamed of being a video game developer. Even more, I was pretty passionate about creating algorithms and coding in C during my high school and college education.”
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
“’You should apply for a postdoctoral researcher position abroad.’ So I did. One of the best decisions I made in my life.”
How do you like your coffee?
“My type of coffee is Turkish. I like it strong, dark, and additionally sweetened with honey. Also, I always take some time to drink it. Drinking coffee is a ritual and never to be done in a rush.”
Indrajit Sen
Current area of research
“I work on the foundations of quantum mechanics, which is the physical theory describing the elementary particles and fields in the universe. I got interested in the theory during my undergraduate days. The question that really bugged me was ‘Is everything pre-destined by the laws of nature and the initial conditions at the big bang, including this very thought?'”
What would you be if you weren’t a scientist?
“Someone addicted to video games!”
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
“Talk less, think more.”
How do you like your coffee?
“I nap instead of coffee. Doesn’t all coffee taste the same?”
Nana Pepra-Ameyaw
Current area of research
“Food is a complex combination of chemical compounds that undergo different reactions under different conditions. Some of these compounds have unique properties such as conferring health benefits or extending shelf-life. My research explores these compounds and attempts to find novel uses for them.”
What would you be if you weren’t a scientist?
“I can’t imagine being anything other than a scientist, but perhaps in another universe, I could have been a guitarist in a rock band. In this universe however, I’m not a very good guitar player.”
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
“I don’t remember where I heard it, but one advice I always remember is to be nice to my barber and my dentist. For a long time, I didn’t understand what to make of this advice, so I decided to be nice to everyone – just in case they were related to my barber or my dentist.”
How do you like your coffee?
“There’s only one way I like my coffee – black, just like myself.”
If you are interested in learning more about the Grand Challenges Initiative, click here to visit the website to see previous work, facilities, and even ask a student about their experience.