Schmid College of Science and Technology’s doctoral program in Computational and Data Science (CADS) has landed once again on TechGuide’s list of best data science Ph.D. programs. 

Christine O’Connell, assistant professor of biological sciences, has won a National Science Foundation RAPID grant to study heavy metals in urban soils following the recent fires in Los Angeles. NSF RAPID research grants are awarded when data must be accessed or acquired rapidly, including during fast-changing conditions after natural or anthropogenic disasters. O’Connell and Christopher Kim, professor of chemistry, are already surveying heavy metal concentrations in surface and near surface soils around the Eaton Fire. They are joined by UC Merced’s Rebecca Ryals, a soil biogeochemist and agroecologist, who will conduct complementary soil analyses in her laboratory. 

O'Connell Map

Christine O’Connell recently won a National Science Foundation RAPID grant to study heavy metals in urban soils following the recent fires in LA.

 

Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences Rebecca Glineburg has authored a new review, entitled “Diverse roles of stress-responsive RNP granules in oogenesis and infertility,” in the journal Biology of Reproduction. Glineburg’s research group uses fruit flies as a model organism for studying cellular-level stresses, particularly with respect to reproduction. The work has implications for treating infertility. 

Glineburg Chart

Rebecca Glineburg has authored a new review about stress-responsive RNP granules in oogenesis.

 

Five Chapman University students received honorable mentions for the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship program, including Schmid College graduates Noelle Clark, Benjamin Janda, and Morgan Grimes. Clark is a doctoral student in STEM education research at University of Georgia. Janda and Grimes are both doctoral students in Chemistry at UCLA. 

Polona Durcik, assistant professor of mathematics, working in collaboration with former Grand Challenges Initiative postdoctoral teaching and research fellow Mario Stipčić, published a study entitled “Quantitative bounds for products of simplices in subsets of the unit cube” in the Israeli Journal of Mathematics. Durcik studies harmonic analysis and its connections with ergodic theory and arithmetic combinatorics. 

Micah Kim ’26, an undergraduate student studying Environmental Science & Policy, took the time to show off a day in her life going to class, conducting independent research, participating in the honors program, working on campus, and even getting the essentials at Trader Joes. Check out her video for a glimpse into what student life is like in Schmid College.