{"544491":{"#nid":"544491","#data":{"type":"news","title":"EAS Graduate Students Win Fellowships to Take Their Research Outside Tech","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EFour graduate students in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.eas.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E (EAS) were recently awarded fellowships that will broaden the scope of their research at Georgia Tech. From participating in research workshops to traveling across the globe, these students have gained the opportunity to extend their research impact beyond the Tech campus. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EJacob Buffo is one of two Ph.D. students to receive the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/funding\/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5284\u0022\u003ENSF East Asia and Pacific Student Institute for U.S. Graduate Students (NSF EAPSI) Fellowship\u003C\/a\u003E. The award enables Buffo to travel to New Zealand to work with the group of \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.royalsociety.org.nz\/2015\/11\/05\/the-curious-case-of-ice-growth-in-a-warming-ocean\/\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;Natalie Robinson\u003C\/a\u003E, a researcher at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.niwa.co.nz\/\u0022\u003ENational Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research\u003C\/a\u003E. The team will be studying a phenomenon known as \u201cplatelet ice.\u201d This is a layer of ice crystals and shards that forms at the interfaces of ice and oceans and strongly influences the properties and evolution of ice and its interaction with the water below.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EUnderstanding the ice-ocean interaction is crucial in accurately simulating sea ice and ice shelves in global climate and ocean models, according to Buffo. Data gathered in research like this can also be used to understand ice that makes up the surfaces of planetary moons. Under the supervision of \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.eas.gatech.edu\/people\/Britney_Schmidt\u0022\u003EBritney Schmidt\u003C\/a\u003E, an assistant professor at EAS, Buffo studies ice on the surfaces of Europa, a moon of Jupiter, and Enceladus, a moon of Saturn. Buffo has also just received a prestigious NASA Earth and Space Sciences Fellowship, which will support his Ph.D. studies for the next three years.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EBuffo earned a B.S. in Astrophysics from the University of Iowa. He chose to pursue graduate studies at Tech \u201cto be a part of an institute that values interdepartmental collaborative research,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s great to see scientists working together to tackle problems utilizing their different research backgrounds. When polymaths no longer exist and specialization is king, this is how science is meant to be done.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003ETiegan Hobbs, a Ph.D. student concentrating on geophysics, received the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca\/Students-Etudiants\/PG-CS\/index_eng.asp\u0022\u003ENatural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Postgraduate Doctoral Fellowship\u003C\/a\u003E. The award allows her to travel to conferences and training events, as well as acquire new data from additional field work. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EHer research aims to increase understanding of the processes occurring in the subduction zone of the Nicoya Peninsula, in Costa Rica. Subduction zones are places where tectonic plates collide, causing earthquakes and tsunamis. Hobbs uses cutting-edge methodology \u2013 developed by her supervisor, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/geophysics.eas.gatech.edu\/anewman\/\u0022\u003EAndrew Newman\u003C\/a\u003E, an associate professor at EAS \u2013 to study the behavior of those zones after a collision. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EHobbs has spent most of her educational training in Canada, receiving a B.S. in Earth and Planetary Sciences from McGill University, in Montreal, and a Master\u2019s in Geophysics at the University of Victoria, in British Columbia. For her Ph.D. she came to Georgia Tech for \u201crigorous training in quantitative methods and opportunities to conduct field work,\u201d she says. \u201cWorking with Dr. Newman has fulfilled those two objectives completely.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EGeorge McDonald is studying for a Ph.D. focused on \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.eas.gatech.edu\/research\/planetary\u0022\u003Espace and planetary science\u003C\/a\u003E under the supervision of \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.eas.gatech.edu\/people\/James_Wray\u0022\u003EJames J. Wray\u003C\/a\u003E, an assistant professor in EAS. McDonald received the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/kspa.soe.ucsc.edu\/program\u0022\u003EKavli Summer Astrophysics Fellowship\u003C\/a\u003E, which allows him to participate in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/kspa.soe.ucsc.edu\/program\u0022\u003Ea six-week workshop\u003C\/a\u003E on \u0026nbsp;exoplanet atmospheres in the University of California, Santa Cruz, beginning on June 20. \u0026nbsp;Exoplanets are planets outside of our solar system.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EMcDonald\u2019s research focuses on the remote sensing of volatile compounds in the lower atmospheres of Mars and Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. The workshop will train participants in modeling the atmospheres of exoplanets. The models will inform observatories scheduled to come online soon, including the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.jwst.nasa.gov\/\u0022\u003EJames Webb Space Telescope\u003C\/a\u003E, which is set to launch in 2018. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EMcDonald came to Tech after earning a B.S. Physics degree from Cornell University. He says it was the opportunity to collaborate with a \u201cstrong engineering program\u201d that drew him to Tech, as well as an eagerness to help shape the relatively new planetary science program at EAS.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EAmy Williamson, another Ph.D. student supervised by Andrew Newman, is the second student to receive the NSF EAPSI Fellowship. The award provides the means for Williamson to work with \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/rses.anu.edu.au\/people\/phil-cummins\u0022\u003EPhil Cummins\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor at the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/rses.anu.edu.au\/research\/groups\/seismology-mathematical-geophysics\u0022\u003EAustralian National University\u003C\/a\u003E, in Canberra. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EWilliamson aims to better understand the sources of large, destructive earthquakes. \u201cBecause the phenomena that I study \u2013 earthquakes -- is a truly global hazard, it warrants a highly collaborative focus by many international research groups,\u201d says Williamson. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003ECummins and his colleagues in Australia have developed new ways to locate the source region of earthquakes. Williamson hopes to learn these techniques and apply them to her own research at Tech. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EWilliamson received a B.S. in Geosciences from Denison University, in Granville, Ohio. She came to Georgia Tech \u201cfor a focused approach to science and technology,\u201d she says. And she hopes to take advantage of the many opportunities offered by the Institute. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cCongratulations to our Ph.D. students,\u201d says College of Sciences Dean Paul M. Goldbart. \u201cAs a College, we are committed to expanding and enriching the research ecosystem for our students and faculty. We are confident that these successes early in your careers are harbingers of more to come after you receive your Ph.D. degrees from Georgia Tech.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EScott Smith \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EStudent Assistant, College of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Awards enable Ph.D. students to broaden their research experience."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EAwards enable Ph.D. students to broaden their research experience.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Awards enable Ph.D. students to broaden their research experience."}],"uid":"32503","created_gmt":"2016-06-14 13:22:51","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:21:53","author":"Scotty Smith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-06-14T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-06-14T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"544521":{"id":"544521","type":"image","title":"Jacob Buffo","body":null,"created":"1465927200","gmt_created":"2016-06-14 18:00:00","changed":"1475895336","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:36","alt":"Jacob Buffo","file":{"fid":"90977","name":"jacob.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/jacob.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/jacob.png","mime":"image\/png","size":125171,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/jacob.png?itok=uATklrc9"}},"544501":{"id":"544501","type":"image","title":"Tiegan Hobbs on location for her research in Costa Rica","body":null,"created":"1465927200","gmt_created":"2016-06-14 18:00:00","changed":"1475895336","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:36","alt":"Tiegan Hobbs on location for her research in Costa Rica","file":{"fid":"90975","name":"tiegan_1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tiegan_1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tiegan_1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":70721,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tiegan_1.jpg?itok=_K0ZTn97"}},"544511":{"id":"544511","type":"image","title":"George McDonald","body":null,"created":"1465927200","gmt_created":"2016-06-14 18:00:00","changed":"1475895336","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:36","alt":"George McDonald","file":{"fid":"90976","name":"george_mcdonald_photo.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/george_mcdonald_photo.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/george_mcdonald_photo.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":133351,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/george_mcdonald_photo.jpg?itok=33oiw6qH"}},"544531":{"id":"544531","type":"image","title":"Amy Williamson on a recent field campaign in Costa Rica.","body":null,"created":"1465927200","gmt_created":"2016-06-14 18:00:00","changed":"1475895336","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:36","alt":"Amy Williamson on a recent field campaign in Costa Rica.","file":{"fid":"90978","name":"capture_1.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/capture_1.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/capture_1.png","mime":"image\/png","size":213939,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/capture_1.png?itok=Wxyn9_3H"}}},"media_ids":["544521","544501","544511","544531"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"61541","name":"Earth and Atmospheric Sciences"},{"id":"172122","name":"graduate student fellowships"},{"id":"172123","name":"Kavli Summer Astrophysics Fellowship"},{"id":"172124","name":"Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Postgraduate Doctoral Fellowship"},{"id":"172125","name":"NSF EAPSI Fellowship"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA. Maureen Rouhi\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDirector of Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECollege of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maureen.rouhi@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}