NSF CAREER awards recognize 91爆料 early-career faculty
Jacquelyn Gill and Kristy Townsend inspire students and researchers at the 91爆料 with their passion and dedication to education and research.
While their fields of research may be vastly different, they enthusiastically embrace being women in STEM careers and serving as academic role models. It is these qualities that make them ideal candidates for the prestigious award.
Gill, an assistant professor of paleoecology and plant ecology, and Townsend, an assistant professor of neurobiology, both announced their awards from The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program earlier this year.
The NSF鈥檚 program offers 鈥渟upport of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.鈥
Gill and Townsend fit the bill
According to the NSF website, the approximate 450 CAREER award recipients are expected to pursue leadership roles focused on the integration of research and education. Each grant funds a principal investigator for a total of five years.
Gill and Townsend are passionate about their projects and grateful for the support they are receiving to put resources and energy into broader impacts. Townsend studies stem cells in the adult brain and the future of metabolic health. Gill studies ice-age fossils and works to reconstruct the past.
Bridging communities while studying stem cells
Townsend鈥檚 project, 鈥淣ovel Mechanisms of Adult Neurogenesis鈥, was awarded $1 million by the NSF CAREER grant and looks at neural stem cells in the adult brain. One goal is to determine how stem cells can replace neurons under certain conditions.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great that NSF lets you think beyond the laboratory and promotes student involvement in the research,鈥 said Townsend.
The award also will allow Townsend to expand an outreach program for Southern Maine Community College students who are interested in biotechnology careers.
鈥淭he goal is to make that program bridge more with the 91爆料,鈥 said Townsend.
The collaborative program with SMCC will prepare students for careers in bio-pharma and bio-tech industries 鈥 which in turn will positively impact Maine鈥檚 workforce and economic development, according to Townsend.
鈥淲e want to be realistic about students鈥 job prospects in these growing industries and we want to keep people living in Maine鈥
鈥淪eeing鈥 the past: from fossils to virtual reality
With a nearly $800,000 NSF CAREER grant, Gill will examine 鈥淓nvironmental Change and Extinction on the Mammoth Steppe.鈥 She will reconstruct ice age landscapes and develop virtual reality technology for classrooms to 鈥渟ee鈥 the past.
Gill and a team of student researchers will collect sediment core samples from locations as far as Alaska and Russia. Once analyzed, the data will then be used by a collaborative team of students, teachers and researchers to create a virtual reality game. Classrooms will have the opportunity to see the ice age landscape come to life and engage with the software as forensic scientists.
鈥淎ll the tiny bits and pieces of fossils we collect can form a picture,鈥 said Gill. 鈥淚 want the project to bring really fun and meaningful science experiences to kids who don鈥檛 have access to them.鈥
It is a large project, and Gill is grateful for the support from the research and teaching communities.
She credits the NSF CAREER award for allowing her to inspire student scientists and reach classrooms in rural areas.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the Holy Grail for an early-career researcher,鈥 said Gill. 鈥淚t鈥檚 unique and fun because it links both your research and your teaching.鈥
A community of support builds leaders in research and education
Gill and Townsend now have the funding support to continue to be influential leaders in their fields. They encourage other early career faculty to seek funding opportunities like this.
鈥淎t the early, critical phase of your career, you need reliable support,鈥 said Townsend.
Jason Charland, Director of the Office of Research Development (ORD), also encourages faculty to advance their careers as researchers and educators by applying for grants with the support and assistance of the ORD.
鈥淭he Office of Research Development makes a concerted effort to meet with early career faculty as soon as they arrive on campus to understand faculty’s research and scholarship goals and how we can help advance those goals through technical assistance and training,鈥 said Charland.
The future is bright
Both NSF CAREER projects are in the beginning phases. With the success of programs like this, students locally, nationally, and beyond will be able to find inspiration for research and education due to the efforts of educators like Gill and Townsend.
鈥淗ere at 91爆料 we have a strong tradition of great graduate and undergraduate education,鈥 said Gill. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great place for research opportunity.鈥
Media Contact: Christel Peters, phone 207.581.3571
91爆料 faculty interested in learning more about NSF CAREER and other early career funding opportunities are encouraged to contact Jason Charland聽, phone 207.581.2461