5,000+

Gary Palmer, II earned his B.S. in
Mechanical Engineering (ME) from
the University of Maryland, College
Park (UMD) in 2007 and his M.S. in
ME from Clemson University (CU)
in 2010. While at UMD, he received
multiple LSAMP scholarships, was
named Bridge Student of the Year,
and was a Ronald E. McNair Scholar. As Chapter President,
he led his BES/NSBE chapter to become Region II Large
Chapter of the Year. As an M.S. student at CU, he presented
his research in Design Complexity at the 2010 International
Design Engineering Technical Conference. Currently, he is a
Southern Regional Education Board Fellow and a fourth-year
Ph.D. student in Industrial Engineering at CU. He researches
the minimization of flow disruptions in cardiothoracic surgery.
Nicole A. Parker earned her B.S. in
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with a
minor in Sociology from the University of
Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) in
2011. Her extensive research experience as
an undergraduate at UMBC included an
internship at the School of Pharmacy at the
University of Maryland, Baltimore where
she conducted research with a team on a project entitled
PKCI/HINT1 Involvement in the Learning and Behavior of the
Morris Water Maze Test Using Proximal Cues. Also, she
presented her research at the LSAMP Poster Session on
Capital Hill in 2010. Currently, she is enrolled in a Ph.D.
program at The Johns Hopkins University.
Alayna N. Pearson earned her B.S. in Fire
Protection Engineering in 2007, and her
M.E. with a focus on Project Management
in 2009, from the University of Maryland,
College Park. After graduating, she began
her professional career as a systems
engineer at a commercial nuclear power
generating facility, where she worked on a
team to pilot the implementation of a performance-based, risk
informed standard for fire protection at nuclear stations. Her
work on this pilot team has earned her industry awards,
including the Nuclear Energy Institute’s Top in Industry
Practice award. Beginning in 2011, she is with the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission working on a variety of regulatory
and oversight activities that ensure the health and safety of the
public and of operating plants. Currently, she is pursuing a
Professional Engineer license.
Brandon L. Penn earned his B.S. magna
cum laude in Biological Sciences from the
University of Maryland, Baltimore
County (UMBC) in 2007. In 2006, he
received the UMBC Outstanding Senior
in Biological Sciences award. Currently,
he is enrolled in an M.D. program at
Columbia University.
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Pedro Peña is a junior at the University of
Maryland, College Park pursuing a B.S. in
Electrical Engineering with a concentration
in power systems. He serves on the
Executive Board for the student chapter of
the Society of Hispanic Professional
Engineers as their Web Master. He is a
member of IEEE, a former LSAMP scholarship recipient, an
L-3 Scholarship recipient, and currently is part of the Igor
Sikorsky Scholarship Program. He also has held summer
internships with the U.S. Department of Energy and United
Technologies Corporation.
Chelsea C. (Stalling) Pinnix, M.D.,
Ph.D. earned her B.S. magna cum
laude in Biochemistry and Molecular
Biology from the University of
Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
in 1999. She also graduated with
Departmental Honors and an Honors
College Undergraduate Certificate.
While an undergraduate at UMBC, she solved the third and
final structure of a key HIV protein. She and her mentor, Dr.
Michael F. Summers, HHMI Investigator, co-authored a paper
that was published in Science. She completed her M.D./Ph.D.
program at the University of Pennsylvania in 2007. Currently,
she practices Internal Medicine in Maryland.
Natasha N. Powell, M.D. earned her B.S.
cum laude in Chemical Engineering from
the University of Maryland, Baltimore
County in 2001. She completed her M.D.
program at the Case Western Reserve
University School of Medicine in 2005, and
she completed her residency in Emergency Medicine at Duke
University Medical Center in 2009. Currently, she practices
Emergency Medicine in Maryland and teaches at George
Washington University.
Tenaya Prince earned her B.S. in
Mechanical Engineering from the
University of Maryland, College Park
(UMD) in 2009. She participated in
the LSAMP Summer Bridge Program
as both a student and as a peer mentor,
and she participated in the LSAMP
Undergraduate Research Program for
two years. Participation in LSAMP
assisted her to place 1 st in the NSBE Region 2 Undergraduate
Research Runway Competition. Currently, she is a secondyear
dual M.S. student at Carnegie Mellon University where
she is studying both Mechanical Engineering and Engineering
& Technology Innovation Management.