We are proud to announce that BEACON’s Director of Diversity, Judi Brown Clarke recently received a Sequoyah Fellowship medal making her a lifetime member of the American Indian Science & Engineering Society (AISES). The Fellowship is named in honor of Sequoyah, the great Cherokee Indian who perfected the Cherokee alphabet and syllabary in 1821, resulting in the Cherokee Nation becoming literate in less than one year. In this spirit, AISES Sequoyah Fellows are recognized for their commitment to the mission of “excellence in STEM” and to the entire American Indian community. They bring honor to AISES by engaging in leadership, mentorship, and other acts of service that support the students and professionals in the AISES family.
In addition, BEACON co-sponsored an Alaska Native (Haida) pre-college student who presented her summer research project about “Divergent Evolution of Shipworms and Clams,” and an undergraduate summer intern who presented her research “Curriculum Development Coupling Traditional Ecological Knowledge with STEM.”