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Two undergraduate students in the Department of Chemistry and
Biochemistry have been selected to receive support for research
projects this summer from Shodor, a nonprofit organization that
provides materials and instruction in computational science.
Tanya Nesterova
and Olivia Shaw were awarded grants as apprentices in Shodor’s
XSEDE (Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment) EMPOWER
(Expert Mentoring Producing Opportunities for Work, Education and
Research) program. The program matches students with mentors who are
working on projects related to the work of XSEDE.
Nesterova works
with Assistant Prof. Juan Perilla on research into the molecular
mechanisms of HIV infection. Her project involves developing
large-scale analysis tools for molecular dynamics simulations,
performing molecular dynamics simulations of HIV-1 relevant systems
and collaborating with biophysical scientists in the design of
experiments for the validation of the project discoveries.
Shaw works with
Assistant Prof. Jodi Hadden-Perilla on ways to make the computational
microscope accessible to blind researchers. Her project will involve
developing the computational tools necessary to enable a blind
researcher to setup, run, and analyze molecular dynamics simulations
of proteins, as well as developing strategies for visualization and
conceptualization of protein structure and dynamics through data
analysis and presentation techniques that do not depend on the sense
of sight.
Shodor
works to improve math and science education through the use of
modeling and simulation technologies. It offers online educational
tools, workshops for students and teachers and hands-on activities in
computational science.
