ORISE Future of Science Awards
The annual ORISE Future of Science Awards celebrate excellence performed by ORISE participants in the areas of scientific achievement, professional growth, project contributions, and leadership.
Eligibility
The individual must have been actively participating in an ORISE program for at least one day within the period of August 1, 2023, through July 31, 2024. ORISE participants who are minors, high school students, faculty, or established scientists are not eligible for these awards.
Awards were announced by ORISE Director Dr. William J. (Jim) Vosburg during a Future of Science Awards presentation and virtual event on September 18, 2024.
Participant prizes
A prize of $1,000 will be awarded to the selected nominee in each of the three categories:
- Undergraduate student and post-baccalaureate participants;
- Graduate student and post-master's participants; and
- Postdoctoral participants.
Inaugural mentor award
We are thrilled to announce an award which allows ORISE participants to recognize their exceptional mentors. Eligible mentors must have been an active ORISE mentor for at least one day within the period of August 1, 2023, through July 31, 2024.
In addition, awardees will receive a personalized plaque and will be featured in future ORISE podcasts, social media, and feature articles. For more information, contact ExperienceORISE@orau.org.
2024 Ceremony
2024 Winners
Undergraduate and Post-Baccalaureate Award Winner
Rebekah Shields
Read Shields' bio
Rebekah Shields participated in the ORISE JUMP into STEM internship program during the summer of 2024. Throughout this experience, Shields collaborated with the Thermal Energy Storage group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), where she focused on thermally characterizing a range of materials using differential scanning calorimetry. Currently, Shields is a senior at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, pursuing a combined bachelor’s and master’s degree in materials and mechanical engineering. Shields has a strong emphasis on fluid dynamics and heat transfer in her studies and is actively part of a team that is developing a thermal energy storage system for their senior capstone project. Looking ahead, Shields aims to further her career in the thermal energy storage sector, contributing to the development of environmentally sustainable heating and cooling solutions.
Nominated by Tugba Turnaoglu, Ph.D., Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Graduate Student and Post-Master’s Award Winner
Susana Najera
Read Najera's bio
Susana Najera is an ORISE fellow in the Office of Therapeutic Products (OTP) under the Gene Therapy and Immunogenicity Branch at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). During her ORISE fellowship at the FDA, Najera has collaborated on three independent research projects aimed at developing safer and more efficacious therapies for patients. Najera’s research focuses on identifying immunogenic epitopes found on viral vectors and transgenes, developing novel biopotency assays for AAV, and characterizing 3D cultures for viral gene delivery. Najera holds a dual master's degree in science in regenerative medicine and stem cells and molecular targets and drug discovery from Johns Hopkins University. Susana serves as an active member of the Board of Directors at Mansfield Kaseman Health Clinic and Mooddai International Bank.
Nominated by Ronit Mazor, Ph.D., U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Postdoctoral Award Winner
Keo Corak, Ph.D.
Read Corak's bio
Keo Corak is currently a computational biologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), working in the Genomics and Bioinformatics Research Unit after completing an ORISE postdoctoral fellowship in the same unit. At the USDA, Corak contributes to the modernization of sugarcane breeding through the integration of genomic, phenomic and big data analytics. Corak holds a Ph.D. in plant breeding and plant genetics and an M.S. in agroecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Corak’s research focuses on quantitative genomics, high-throughput technologies and computational models to enhance breeding efficiency in commodity and specialty crops.
Nominated by Amanda Hulse-Kemp, Ph.D., U.S. Department of Agriculture
Mentor Award Winner
Gerardo Ruiz-Mercado, Ph.D.
Read Ruiz-Mercado's bio
Dr. Gerardo J. Ruiz-Mercado is a research chemical engineer with the Office of Research and Development at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Cincinnati, Ohio. Ruiz-Mercado leads projects on decision support tools, techniques, economics and planning for the sustainable management of end-of-life materials. Gerardo holds a Ph.D. from the University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez and a B.S. from Universidad del Atlántico - Colombia. Ruiz-Mercado volunteers as an adjunct professor at the Universidad del Atlántico, journal assistant editor, and an executive member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. Ruiz-Mercado’s publications and presentations include over 75 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, a book and more than 175 talks at technical conferences and meetings. Moreover, Ruiz-Mercado is a peer reviewer for 55 indexed journals and a mentor for Ph.D., MSc and B.S. students.
Nominated by former ORISE participant David Perez
2023 Award Winners
Annie Price is a researcher at the Air Force Research Laboratory, working within the high-speed systems division. Her research focus is on ramjet inlet design and analysis. She graduated from Princeton University in May of 2022, with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree.
Air Force Institute of Technology Program
U.S. Department of Defense
Jose A Camberos, Ph.D., mentor
Reese Tierney is an epidemiologist in the Enteric Diseases Epidemiology Branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During her tenure in CDC’s ORISE Research Participation Program, Reese assisted CDC scientists with several high-priority projects, including the development foodborne illness source attribution estimates, investigation of disparities in foodborne illness, and analysis of social and environmental factors associated with salmonellosis. She holds a Bachelor of Science in public health from Georgia Southern University and a Master of Public Health in epidemiology from Georgia State University.
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Dr. Erica Rose, mentor
From the ORISE Featurecast
In this conversation, hosts Michael Holtz and Matthew Underwood talk to Tierney about her award, her passion for community-based public health and so much more.
Jenny Paul is an ORISE Postdoctoral Fellow with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Gulf Ecosystem Measurement and Modeling Division in Gulf Breeze, Fla., and EPA’s Gulf of Mexico Division in Gulfport, Miss. She received her Ph.D. in zoology from the Center for Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences from Southern Illinois University. As an ecotoxicologist, her work is focused on understanding how environmental stressors and pollution affect aquatic ecosystems. At the EPA, Jenny is developing rapid assessment tools using marine invertebrates to better assist natural resource managers and monitoring programs in the northern Gulf of Mexico. These include techniques like sediment profile imaging (SPI) which takes pictures that are later scored for animal activity, and approaches using environmental DNA to evaluate the benthic community.
Gulf of Mexico Program Office
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Janet Nestlerode, Ph.D., mentor
2022 Winners
Brooke Vollmer is an ORISE fellow in the Research Branch at the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL), which is a division within the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) located in Pittsburgh. Vollmer received her Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown in Spring 2020. Vollmer has contributed to an abundance of research projects within her division and by representing NIOSH/NPPTL in research collaborations with outside organizations. She has focused her efforts on research that looks into understanding the factors that affect respirator performance, such as fit and filtration efficiency. This research helps to protect workers worldwide who rely on respirators to prevent occupational disease and illness.
From the ORISE Featurecast
In this episode of the ORISE Featurecast, host Michael Holtz talks to Vollmer about her role at NIOSH, how she got interested in a career in STEM, and so much more.
Geneva Gray is a doctoral candidate in Atmospheric Sciences at North Carolina State University and a current ORISE participant at the Environmental Protection Agency. She studies how extreme precipitation events change under future warming conditions using stakeholder-driven case studies and extreme value analysis. Gray holds two Bachelor of Science degrees in Meteorology and Environmental Sciences and a master’s degree in Atmospheric Science, where she studied quantitative methods on climate model ensemble selection. She is a former U.S. Geological Survey Global Change Fellow and Urban Resilience to Extremes Sustainability Research Network Fellow. Gray started her career in 2012 as an environmental meteorologist at the North Carolina State Climate Office where she learned how to build impact-driven research projects and how to communicate those result to the general public. Her career goal is to lead actionable climate science for a resilient future.
From the ORISE Featurecast
ORISE Featurecast host Michael Holtz talked with Gray about her award, her career, mentorship and what drove her interest in science.
Ryan Corey is an Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellow working with Professor Andrew Singer in the Coordinated Science Laboratory at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He received his Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree from Princeton University and his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, all in electrical engineering. A hearing aid user since he was a teenager, Corey’s research focuses on signal processing strategies to help people hear better in noisy environments. In particular, he is developing systems that allow multiple sensors and audio devices to work together to improve performance in adverse environments.
From the ORISE Featurecast
In this conversation, Corey and host Michael Holtz discuss Corey's research, how he became interested in science, and what happens next in his career.