BiyOSeF

Ross Robertson is a second-year graduate student in the MS Engineering Physics program and expects to graduate in spring 2020. He began working with BiyOSeF in fall 2018. He has received funding from GSGA and SAFE grants.

Taylor Warnock is a senior majoring in Physics and is expected to graduate in May 2020. She has been a member since fall of 2018 and has worked in the Laser Tweezer Raman Spectroscopy (LTRS) laboratory since the summer of 2019. She is employed through Appalachian State Tutoring Services where she tutors students in Chemistry and Physics. In her free time, she likes to spend time with her dog and go hiking.

Jeffrey Miller is a graduate student in the Engineering Physics program. He graduated with his bachelors in Physics in May 2019 with an emphasis in medical instrumentation and a minor in mathematics. He has been working with BiyOSeF since January 2017. He is currently working on the determination of the elastic modulus of a cell with optical tweezers. He has presented several posters at the university, state, and one at the national level. He has received OSR grants, SAFE grants, and an NC Space Grant.

Murphy D'Oyen is currently working for FAST Enterprises.

Caroline Donaghy is an undergraduate senior Chemistry major with a Physics minor. She is expected to graduate May 2018. Caroline has been working with Dr. Hester on the fluorescence project since summer 2016 and with Dr. Cecile in the chemistry department since spring 2016. These two research projects are a collaborative effort to determine the structure of the enzyme OAT.

Scott Hancock is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Maryland. In May 2017, he graduated with an MS in Engineering Physics program with a concentration in Systems and Laboratory Automation. He started working with Dr. Burris in Spring 2016. He received an NC Space Grant - Graduate Research Fellowship for Summer 2016.

Michael Paolino is currently pursing a PhD at the University of Colorado Boulder. There he is working as a TA for an intro physics class. He is about to start reseach under Dr. David Nesbitt at JILA, a joint institute between CU and NIST. He will be working on a project involving surface physics of molten metals in vacuum.

Brandon Buchanan graduates in December 2016 with a BS in Physics and a minor in Mathematics. He worked in the Raman lab from January 2015 - August 2016. Brandon is currently pursuing an MS in Engineering Physics from Appalachian State University.

Ian Newsome graduated in May 2016 with an MS Engineering Physics degree, concentrating in Laboratory Systems and Automation. He is headed to VCU for another graduate degree.

Brianna Burnett worked with Dr. Burris in Spring and Summer of 2015 in the Raman Spectroscopy Laboratory studying microbes.

Zachary Kitch worked with Dr. Hester in the Optical Tweezers lab in Spring 2015.

Nykesha Fyffe is currently working on a graduate degree at NC A&T in the Civil Engineering program. She graduated in May 2017 with an undergraduate degree in Applied Physics with a minor in Mathematics. Nykesha worked with BiyOSeF since the Fall of 2014. She worked on constructing a custom fluidic device, fluorescence imaging of microspheres, and on creating sound waves using the custom automated tweezers apparatus and gold nanoparticles. She had received multiple research grants from the Office of Student Research and a North Carolina Space Grant for the summer of 2016.

Samuel Migirditch is currently pursuing dual PhDs in cognitive science and complex networks and systems at IU Bloomington under a NSF fellowship. He studies the mathematical models of dynamics in neural circuits.

Alexander Mandarino received a BS in Applied Physics in December 2015. He worked with Dr. Hester starting in the Fall of 2013 on the automation of experimentally determined temperature in the Optical Tweezers Laboratory. Alex presented at one local, one state, and two national conferences. He received two research grants and one travel grant from the Office of Student Research. Alex also received an Undergraduate Research Assistantship grant from the Office of Student Research.

Joe Craigle graduated in May 2015 with an MS in Engineering Physics, concentrating in Systems and Laboratory Automation. He has worked with BiyOSeF from August 2013 to May 2015. He received his BS in Applied Physics with a minor in Mathematics from Appalachian State University in May of 2013.

Seth Seagle graduated in May 2015 with a BS in Chemistry and worked with Dr. Hester Fall 2013 - May 2015. He is currently in pharmacy school.

Barry Canipe was a Lecturer in the Physics & Astronomy Department who specialized in instrumentation and automation. Mr. Canipe received his M.S. in Engineering Physics from Appalachian State University in 2013.

Christina Johnson graduated from Appalachian State University in December 2014 with a BS in Applied Physics. She began working with Dr. Burris in the Raman Spectroscopy lab in Spring of 2013. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Miami.

Katrina Godsey presented a poster at the 2013 Celebration of Student Research and Creative Endeavors at Appalachian State University.

Jacob Cole received his B.S. in Physics from Appalachian State University in May, 2016. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Jessica Barrios graduated with a B.S. in Applied Physics in May 2014. She had worked with Dr. Jennifer Burris since Fall 2012. Jessica received a NCBC Undergraduate Biotechnology Fellowship during summer 2013, was a member of the BiyOSeF safety committee, and was in charge of laser safety. Jessica was a student-athlete, playing varsity basketball all four years at Appalachian State. She was also the president of the NCAA Student Athlete Honor Society at Appalachian State. Jessica is currently pursuing a M.S. in Engineering at the University of Southern California.

Jenna Osborn began working for Dr. Brooke Hester in 2012 and graduated with a degree in Applied Physics in May 2014. She received an Undergraduate Research Assistantship from the Office of Student Research at Appalachian State and a North Carolina Biotechnology Center Undergraduate Research Fellowship for the 2013-2014 academic year. Jenna is now pursuing a Ph.D. at Duke University in Biomedical Engineering. She currently works as part of an Ultrasound group.

Nikki Chang graduated in May 2013 from Appalachian State University with a B.S. in Applied Physics and a concentration in medical physics. She also received minors in Chemistry and Mathematics. She Received a NC Biotechnology Center Reserach Fellowship in summer 2013. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D in Phyiscs at Boise State University.

Zachary Jenkins graduated in 2013 with a B.S. in Applied Physics. He was the leading student researcher in the Raman spectroscopy lab for two years. Zac is currently persuing an MPS in Marine Science with a concentration in Exploration Science at the University of Miami. He is also working for Land and Sea Surveying Concepts Inc., in Merritt Island, Florida.

Colin Curtis presented a poster at the 2011 Science in the Mountains Conference in Asheville, NC; a poster at both the 2010, 2011 and 2012 SNCURCS; a poster at the 2010, 2011, and 2012 Celebration of Student Research and Creative Endeavors at Appalachian State University; and presented a talk at the 2011 Physics and Astronomy Research Day. He received a summer stipend through our North Carolina Biotechnology research grant for summer 2010 and received a summer stipend in 2011 from NCBC through the Undergraduate Biotechnology Research Fellowship. Colin attended the Carolina Workshop on Force Measurement & Manipulation in Biology at the UNC - Chapel Hill in May 2012. Colin graduated in May 2012 and is currently pursuing a Ph.D at North Carolina State University.

Robb Young presented a poster at 2010 SNCURCS and a poster at the 2010 Celebration of Student Research and Creative Endeavors at Appalachian State University. Robb received a summer stipend through Dr. Burris's NCBC research grant for summer 2010. He graduated in August 2011 and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at Rutgers University.

Davidson Wicker graduated in May 2010 and earned an M.S. in Applied Physics from East Carolina University. Davidson is currently an entrepreneur living in Raleigh and recently developed and launched Ravetree, a new social networking site.

Nate Cox presented a poster at 2008 SNCURCS, the 2008 Celebration of Student Research and Creative Endeavors at Appalachian State University, and a poster at the 2009 AAPT conference in Chicago, IL. Nate received a grant from the local NC Space Grant for summer 2008. Nate graduated in December 2010. In 2016, he received a Ph.D. in Physics from Rochester Institute of Technology and currently works at Optimax of Rochester, NY.

Claire Brown is an undergraduate Physics major with a concentration in Applied Physics, an emphasis in Engineering Physics, and minors in Mathematics and Astronomy. She began working with Biyosef in the Spring of 2018 and is expected to graduate in 2021. She received the NC Space Grant for Spring 2018, has received OSR grants in October of 2018 and September of 2019, as well as a SAFE grant in Octber of 2018. She hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering following the completion of her undergraduate degree.

Henry Kolesar is an undergraduate Applied Physics major at Appalachian State university and is working on the Fluorescence Anisotropy project. Henry began research with BiyOSef in 2020.

Lucian Murray is a graduate student at Appalachian State University. He is in the Engineering Physics MS program, he graduated from App State with a Major in Applied Physics and a Minor in Chemistry. He started working with BiyOSeF in January 2018. He is currently working on the Fluorescence Anisotropy project. In his spare time, he enjoys playing drums, guitar, video games, rugby, and, of course, taking long walks on the beach. He is excited to be part of the BiyOSeF team and looks forward to seeing all that the team can accomplish.

Lia Phillips is a graduate student currently pursuing an MS in Engineering Physics with plans to graduate in May of 2022. She also did her undergraduate studies at Appalachian, graduating with a Bachelors in Physics in May of 2020. Lia started working with BiyOSeF in August of 2019 after completing a summer research experience at Howard University in Washington, DC. She is currently working on the Laser Tweezer Raman Spectroscopy (LTRS) project, and was awarded the 2020-21 NC Space Grant Graduate Research Fellowship to continue her work. Additionally, she's been awarded several OSR, SAFE, and research travel grants during her time with BiyOSeF.