is an endeavor she cofounded — both aid in youth pursuing STEM. Talaria Summer Institute pairs ATHENA members with a mentor to conduct a monthlong independent research project every July. As for Envision, Sun said she took a lot of inspiration from grant application processes for scientists. It’s through proposal writing that scientists apply for grants and get money to conduct research.
Jasmine Lunia, a Dallas native, competed in Envision’s research proposal competition for the last three years. The soon to be Wellesley College freshman said she wanted to use her free time during the pandemic to get more involved in science. She’s written proposals on epidemiology, forensic anthropology and a new assessment to diagnose autism spectrum disorders. She’s looking into a career in scientific research.
“One of the things that really fascinated me about all the entries is that they had no limitations for innovation — no financial or experimental boundaries,” said Ananthanarayanan Kumar, a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University studying RNA structures in humans. He has served as an Envision judge for two years. “All the projects are very innovative.
Yale postdoc Avisek Banerjee looks forward to talking with Envision participants. Be it offering help about future plans in STEM or steps one should consider in college, he’s there for it.