iCons Student, Joshua McGee, Selected for Coveted UMass and NSF Awards

We are proud to share that iCons senior, Joshua McGee ’21 (iCons Biomedicine/Biosystems track), a Chemical Engineering major, has been selected as a 2020 UMass Rising Researcher and a 2021 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow (GRFP).

Josh’s research proposal was based on his honors thesis and iCons capstone work. Working with Dr. Sarah Perry of UMass Chemical Engineering, Josh’s proposal is for the creation of a microfluidic platform to improve nanoparticle synthesis and characterization, in order to speed up the development of nano-based cancer therapeutics. An additional objective is the creation of a “tumor--on-chip” to eliminate or reduce animal models required to characterize such therapies.

Josh plans to use the fellowship to support his studies at Boston University where he will be starting a Ph.D. program in Biomedical Engineering in fall 2021. Josh is originally from Pepperell, MA.

The UMass Rising Researcher program celebrates students who excel in research, scholarship, or creative activity.

The NSF GRFP recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported STEM disciplines who are pursuing research-based masters and doctoral degrees at accredited U.S. institutions. The five-year fellowship includes three years of financial support.

News Highlights

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On October 22, 2024, the UMass iCons Program hosted the annual Idea Slam. This event urges students to think creatively and collaboratively to hypothesize potential solutions to real-world issues, with a particular focus this year on addressing the epidemic of student anxiety. Presentations delivered by thought leaders Dr. Melissa Rotkiewicz, the director of the UMass Amherst Center for Counseling and Psychological Health (CCPH), and Brian Pearson, the founder of Adventure East, prepared participants for the issue at hand: the epidemic of student anxiety.

In 2016, Marinna Teixeira graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a degree in Environmental Sciences and a minor in French. Having emigrated from Brazil at a young age, Marinna was the first woman in her family to graduate from university and has achieved profound accomplishments since. After joining the UMass iCons Program as a freshman, she befriended peers who dreamed of professional accomplishments like hers. As a member of the third iCons cohort, the Third Axis, her participation in the undergraduate program fell under the Renewable Energy track where she pursued her interest in climate change mitigation.

Heather Bortolussi '24 and Fay Paicos '24, both recent graduates of the Environmental Science program and the UMass iCons Program at UMass Amherst, discovered that an iCons classroom is not just the beginning of a professional toolkit but a gateway to enriching experiences beyond academia. Their journey began in an iCons 2 classroom, where their teamwork sparked a friendship that extended far beyond those four walls, taking them all the way to Thailand for a study abroad adventure.

iCons Student, Joshua McGee, Selected for Coveted UMass and NSF Awards

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