SOCIETY FOR SCIENCE & THE PUBLIC (CROTTY)
➜ Brendan Crotty has won third place and a prize of $150,000 in the prestigious Regeneron Science Talent Search 2020 conducted by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and the Center for Science in the Public Interest. For the first time in the 78-year history, this year’s competition was virtual. Crotty’s winning project is an efficient hybrid gas burner that took him three years to perfect. He is now a freshman at the Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, pursuing a degree in metallurgical engineering. Ultimately, he plans to earn an MBA and start a business developing environmentally friendly pollution reduction systems for manufacturing industries.
➜ Former Region 1 representative Brook Thompson, pictured, has been recognized as one of UNITY’s 25 Under 25 Native Youth Leaders. The program recognizes 25 American Indian and Alaska Native young people who are demonstrating a passion for serving their community.
➜ Dr. Lani Tsinnajinnie, an assistant professor in the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of New Mexico, was selected for a 2020 UNM Women in STEM Award.
➜ Madison Deese has received the Phyllis G. Meekins Scholarship from the LPGA Foundation. The scholarship goes to a minority high school senior who plans a full-time course of college study while playing golf at the collegiate level. Deese qualified twice for the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Women’s Golf State Championship and three times for the Women’s Golf Regionals. She plans to major in chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, and eventually to earn a doctorate in pharmacy.
➜ Kimball Sekaquaptewa was honored with a Women in Technology Award from the New Mexico Technology Council. She is the chief technology director at Santa Fe Indian School.
➜ Liam Puls, a junior at the Oklahoma School of Innovation and Experiential Learning last year, won first place in the 2020 Congressional Art Competition for High School Students. His piece Serve to Inspire will hang in the U.S. Capitol for a full year. Liam also took home a Senior Division Award at the 2020 National American Indian Science and Engineering Fair (NAISEF). For more on Liam, see AISES People.
