Own It Winners Announced!

After a week long effort to view, judge, and scrutinize over the nominees, this year's Own It winners have been announced!

Own It helps to increase the visibility of an often overlooked group in STEM.  Recognizing women for their role and participation in STEM fields encourages us all to rise to the occasion.

It quickly became evident that there are numerous women in Laramie and at the University of Wyoming making an impact in various STEM fields.  Whether it be in the lab, out in the field, through community service, during a lecture in a classroom, or by mentoring others, each nominee demonstrated immense passion for, and dedication to, STEM.

While the judging committee would have liked to see each nominee receive and Own It Award, they are proud to announce this year's winners!

Drum roll please.

• Undergraduate Student - Aisha Balogun Mohammed

• Graduate Student - Rhiannon Jakopak

• STEM Professional - Jane Crayton

• Pre Tenured Faculty - Karen Mruk

• Tenured Faculty - Jennifer Eisenhauer Tanner

• Antell Diversity Award - Bethann Garramon Merkle

• Committee Choice - Jessica Sutter and Rachel Watson

The judging committee could not be more proud of the hard work and dedication shown to the STEM fields by this year's winners.  Each are strong researchers, mentors, leaders, and active members of the STEM community.  We are so proud to share these individuals with you!

Congratulations to the 2020 Own It winners!

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's....a Foldscope!

With 140x magnification and 2 micron resolution, amazing things are about to be discovered through the Foldscope!

Students competing in this year's Wyoming State Science Fair were invited to the University of Wyoming Ecology and Biogeochemistry Core Lab to explore their facilities, share research ideas, and most importantly receive their very own Foldscope!

Known as the 2020 Wyoming State Science Fair Foldscope Party, nearly 100 students celebrated their success at the fair by touring labs and the UW Geology Museum while testing out their new Foldscopes.  The scopes were distributed instead of t-shirts at this year's event and, based on the pictures, was an exciting way to conclude this year's fair!

The Foldscope, invented by Mantu Paresh, is a high tech paper microscope that allows scientists of all ages to further explore the world around them.  Students had the opportunity to build, and learn how to use their scopes, at this year's Foldscope Party.  Between the Ecology BGC Lab and the UW Geology Museum, there were plenty of opportunities to test them out.

Check out the gallery below for a look into the night's activities and excitement!

Who's That Girl?

Wondering who's been posting stories on the blog?  Enjoying the Facebook posts and curious as to who's been writing them?  Wishing you had a face and a name to send questions and story ideas to?  Look no further, it's time to meet this year's EPSCoR Communication Intern, Morgan Patton.

Morgan is a first-year Graduate student in the Communication and Journalism Department at the University of Wyoming.  She is pursuing a Master's in Communication while teaching public speaking courses as a Graduate Teaching Assistant.  Morgan previously attended the University of Northern Colorado where she earned her Bachelor's Degree in two different areas.  She double majored in Communication Studies as well as Journalism and Media Studies with an emphasis in Strategic Communication.  


In addition to being a full time student, Morgan worked with UNC Admissions where she was a Student Ambassador, Tour Guide, Admissions Assistant, Outreach Caller, Student Event Organizer, and Social Media Coordinator.  She also volunteered as a State Rifle Instructor, Weld County Shooting Sports Council Vice-President, and Orion Team Member for Colorado 4-H Shooting Sports.  What can we say?  She has a passion for working with people.  Her work experience, coupled with her schooling, has made her a promising candidate for this year's Communication Internship.  

As organizations look to move completely online, Morgan plans to step into a Public Relations Coordinator position.  She will be working with the EPSCoR team to create an entirely virtual platform where audiences can continue gathering and sharing research.  

While she keeps busy with work, school, and her professional life, Morgan also enjoys volunteering with Colorado 4-H Shooting Sports, spending time with family, taking her dog (Mando) on walks, reading, meeting up with friends for Bible study, taking photos, singing, filling out her planner, working on her boyfriend's family ranch, and finding new ways to get involved in her local community.  

We are so excited to introduce you to this year's EPSCoR Communication Intern!  If you do have any story ideas or questions about the program, Morgan would love to hear from you!  Feel free to contact her at mpatton8@uwyo.edu.

And Then There Were Four...

Four Wyoming startups pitched their businesses to a panel of expert judges on March 26^th, 2020.  All hoped to go home with a piece of the $25,000 prize. 

“All four teams have significant potential to shape business in Wyoming and all contribute to protecting or commercializing microbial ecology in some way,” says Eric Schlidt, Director of the Casper WTBC.

The Microbial Ecology Collaborative Startup Launchpad (MECSL) awards new Wyoming startups with business capital to further their ventures. This state-wide entrepreneurship platform plans to disperse $25K in startup capital funded by the National Science Foundation and Wyoming’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).

The Startup Launchpad is one of many initiatives of Wyoming EPSCoR’s five-year Micro Program. The Micro Program supports microbiome research in the state.  Research utilizes techniques such as the application of modern genomic sequencing and data science methodology to answer questions about how microbes affect our ecosystem. As part of the broader impacts of the Micro Program, MECSL promotes the commercialization of research and development activities state-wide.

Wyoming EPSCoR partnered with the Wyoming Technology Business Center (WTBC) to administer MECSL, the first state-wide WTBC program that focuses on microbial ecology and data science startups. The WTBC supports innovative startups in Wyoming through regional startup challenges, business counseling, and business incubator space in Laramie, Casper, and Sheridan.

“Startup funding makes an incredible impact in our communities,” Fred Schmechel of the WTBC in Laramie explains. “Giving these emerging businesses a debt-free way to build capital is a game changer for startup growth in Wyoming.”

The finalist businesses are as follows:

Livestock Wx, Casper, founded by Chad McNutt, provides timely and authoritative weather information for beef, pork, poultry, and sheep producers with a focus on impacts to livestock health and well-being. 

www.livestockwx.com

Theraneutrics, Laramie, founded by Christoph Geisler, is an innovative biomedical startup working to solve gout through engineered probiotics. 

www.theraneutrics.com

Enviro Cast, Pinedale, founded by Loren Wilcox, is focused on reducing micro plastic pollution one cast at a time with their completely natural and biodegradable fishing line. 

www.enviro-cast.com 

Asimica, Laramie, founded by Nikolai Mushnikov and Grant Bowman, co-inventors of Microbial Stem Cell (MiSt) technology. Asimica seeks to improve biomolecule production efficiency in the pharmaceutical industry using their microbial stem cell technology. 

www.asimica.com

Three out of four of the teams have presented their businesses in similar startup challenges in the past. The Southeast Wyoming Innovation Launchpad saw Theraneutrics as one of the top contenders, in February 2020, taking home $5,000 in startup capital. Livestock Wx competed in the 2018 Casper Start-Up Challenge, which boasted a $50K seed fund. Asimica was also a contender for the 2018 Fisher Innovation Launchpad, which gives UW student entrepreneurs the opportunity to receive capital from a $125K seed fund.

“We are really excited to see how high these companies reach,” says David Bohling, Director of the WTBC in Laramie. All four MECSL companies are established in Wyoming and will continue to serve as great examples of entrepreneurship in the equality state.