Presidential Fellows

JIE FANG-2014 Scholarmajor & degree: Mechanical Engineering, Ph.D.hometown: Shenzhen, Chinacontact: fangjie_16891@hotmail.comBefore attending the University of South Carolina, I pursued my master’sdegree in Materials Science at Northwestern University. Whileat Northwestern, I researched solid oxide fuel cells. I enjoy exploringthe relationship among cell’s microstructure, properties, fabricationprocess, and performance. My love of this field drives me to continuemy research in this area at USC. My future work aims at understandingfrom a fundamental science perspective the mechanisms of a fuelcell’s cathode and develop new catalytic cathode materials. I would like to work as an engineer in afuel cell related company after I finish my Ph.D. program at USC.DEEONNA FARR-2012 Scholarmajor & degree: Health Promotion, Education andBehavior, Dr.P.H.hometown: Brooklyn, NYcontact: farrde@email.sc.eduI received a bachelor’s in human development from Cornell Universityand an M.P.H from George Washington University. My public heath careerconsists of experience in health advocacy, health education, andclinical research. In my most recent position I was a project managerfor the Stroke Disparities Project funded by the NINDS/NIMHD. As aresult of my work with health disparities in the context of infant mortalityand stroke research, I decided to pursue my Dr.P.H. in order to improve my understanding of thedeterminates of chronic disease disparities and what strategies can be employed to successfully reducethese disparities. Specifically, I am interested in learning which individual and structural factorscombine leading to the increased rates of cancer and cardiovascular mortality present in communitiesof color.13