WINSTED, CT – May 11, 2020 – While the pandemic may have kept them out of the classroom and prevented them from traveling, the research, hard work and dedication of the Northwestern Connecticut Community College’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) students have not gone unrecognized.

Students, Rebekah Dery, Sydney Marshall, Francesca Neris, Edgar Petrosyan, Jordan Dziedzic, Kaitlyn Patchofsky, and Cynthia Pitcher were recently inducted into the Epsilon Pi Tau Honor Society for Science and Technology Students during a virtual ceremony that was held for inductees across the country.

Biology major Jeffrey Carrier was awarded a National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates and will, at some later date, be working for 10 weeks with Dr. Anastasios Tzingounis, Professor of Physiology and Neurobiology at the University of Connecticut. He will be working with Dr. Tzingounis to study the mechanisms by which epilepsy-associated molecules and signaling networks lead to epileptogenesis in the neonatal and infantile brain.

Renee Brenckman, Amanda Gregg, Elijah Lovejoy and Xavier Rodriguez, all students in the Molecular Genetics class, annotated a Bacteriophage and submitted it for review for publication in GenBank. Renee Brenckman was selected to present their work at the SEAPHAGES Symposium sponsored by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Technology students Kit Fitch and Tommy Le were selected to present their poster Addressing the Global Nature of Industry, at the High Impact Technology Conference in Oregon in July. Both students traveled to Spain as part of Northwestern’s new Study Abroad Program to learn about the Global Nature of Industry. During their travels they visited numerous manufacturers and will be sharing what they learned.

Data Science students, Claire Christie, Nicola Sestito, and Joseph McElroy participated in the Capstone Research Project, where they are worked with industry on using their STEM skills to solve real world problems. They were tasked with helping HealthLynxIQ, a startup company, identify their focused market segment and potential barriers to adoption of their products.

Their final products consisted of a 12-page final paper and a 15-minute presentation which will be made available for all to view later this month. These three students will also be presenting their work to a national panel of judges through the Mathematical Association of America (MAA).

Northwestern Connecticut Community College has a strong STEM program that provides students with opportunities to participate in authentic research and real-world experiences both in and out of the classroom. Students can earn certificates in Manufacturing and Data Science as well as degrees in Biology, Data Science, Engineering, Manufacturing, and Natural Resources. For more information on how you can start your STEM career at Northwestern, email Sharon Gusky, Professor of Biology sgusky@nwcc.edu.