Pictured left to right are Dr. Robert Marley, Missouri ST Provost; Dr. Frances Montgomery, Chancellor’s Professor of psychological science; Lingyu Chi; Ariel Donovan, who accepted the award for Danielle West, who was at an out-of-state conference; Rachel Stancil-Bacon; and Missouri ST Chancellor Cheryl B. Schrader.
The Missouri University of Science and Technology Alumna and Woman Student of the Year Committee announced its 2014 award winners during a ceremony held on campus Oct. 13. This year the committee honored three women students who are dedicated to advancing the lives of women and committed to diversity.
Lingyu Chi of Rolla, Missouri, a Ph.D. candidate in physical chemistry at Missouri ST, received the 2014 Missouri ST Woman Student of the Year Gold Award. Chi earned a bachelor of science degree in biological engineering from Tianjin University of Commerce in China. A former graduate teaching assistant and graduate grading assistant, Chi has won the Chemistry Department Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award twice. Chi She participated in the ST Expanding Your Horizons programs in 2011 and 2013, helping to promote the interest of middle school girls’ in pursing STEM careers. She has authored three journal articles and authored or co-authored 22 oral presentations and conference poster presentations.
Rachel Stancil-Bacon of Rolla, Missouri, a senior in psychology at Missouri ST, received the 2014 Woman Student of the Year Silver Award. Stancil-Bacon is a research assistant for Dr. Brandi Klein, assistant professor of psychological science at Missouri ST, assisting with research into math anxiety, stereotype threat and spatial ability training to help increase the number of women students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. She received Fellow funding through the Opportunities for Undergraduate Research Experience (OURE) program and was honored with her department’s 2014 Outstanding Scholarship/Research Award for her efforts. An active member of the Psychology Club and Phi Sigma Rho sorority, Stancil-Bacon plans to pursue a master’s degree in industrial-organizational psychology at Missouri ST.
Danielle West of Rolla, Missouri, a Ph.D. candidate in chemistry at Missouri ST, received the 2014 Woman Student of the Year Bronze Award. West, who earned a bachelor of science degree in chemistry with honors from Southwest Baptist University in 2010, is a graduate research assistant for Dr. Yinfa Ma, Curators’ Teaching Professor of chemistry at Missouri ST, and Dr. Honglan Shi, associate research professor of chemistry at Missouri ST. West spent two months in China as a 2014 National Science Foundation East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute Fellow, where she studied the detection and removal of pharmaceuticals during wastewater treatment processes. A graduate teaching assistant in chemistry, she has authored or co-authored 12 conference presentations.
The Alumna and Woman Student of the Year Award endowment was created by the first three named female professors at Missouri ST: Dr. Mariesa Crow, F. Finley Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering; Dr. Dee Haemmerlie Montgomery, Chancellor’s Professor of psychological science; and the late Dr. Ann Miller, former Cynthia Tang Missouri Distinguished Professor of Computer Science.