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KU senior from Wichita advances as a finalist for the Marshall Scholarship
LAWRENCE — A University of Kansas senior from Wichita has advanced to become a finalist for the Marshall Scholarship, which provides funding for graduate study at any university in the United Kingdom. Mary Sevart, who is majoring in chemical engineering with plans to pursue a doctorate in the same field, is a finalist for the award. A graduate of Maize High School, Sevart was named a Barry M. Goldwater scholar in spring 2022.
Artist Fereshteh Toosi to be in residence Nov. 6-10, with talk planned Nov. 9
LAWRENCE — University of Kansas partners will host artist Fereshteh Toosi this month. Toosi’s work largely examines the relationships between humans and nature, and they utilize multiple media to create experiences for audiences. Toosi will give an artist talk at 6 p.m. Nov. 9 in the Forum at Marvin Hall. They also will lead two workshops through which students will create poems based on ecologically stimulating sites on the Lawrence campus.
11 graduate students advance to Three Minute Thesis Competition Finals
LAWRENCE – Eleven University of Kansas graduate students from four different academic units advanced to the finals of the Three Minute Thesis Competition. The finals will take place at 2 p.m. Nov. 9 in forum C of the Burge Union. KU’s competition is part of a global event that highlights graduate student research by challenging students to explain their work effectively and engagingly to nonexperts in three minutes or less.
Full stories below.
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Contact: Andy Hyland, Office of Public Affairs, 785-864-7100, [email protected], @UnivOfKansas
KU senior from Wichita advances as a finalist for the Marshall Scholarship
LAWRENCE — A University of Kansas senior from Wichita has advanced to become a finalist for the Marshall Scholarship, which provides funding for graduate study at any university in the United Kingdom.
Mary Sevart, who is majoring in chemical engineering with plans to pursue a doctorate in the same field, is a finalist for the award.
Up to 50 awards are given annually. Final decisions on which students will receive the awards will be made later this year following finalist interviews to be conducted this month.
The Office of Fellowships coordinates KU’s endorsement process and supports candidates through the application process.
Students interested in applying for the Marshall Scholarship or similar awards in the future are encouraged to contact the office by email at [email protected]. Depending on other eligibility requirements, students may apply for these awards as juniors, seniors or recent graduates.
Sevart is the daughter of Eric and Karen Sevart and a graduate of Maize High School.
Currently, she serves as the testing lab manager for the KU Biodiesel Initiative and conducts undergraduate research for Susan Williams, Charles E. & Mary Jane Spahr Professor, with a focus on the valorization of hemp biomass to create a fuel source.
She also is the co-president of KU’s Society of Women Engineers chapter and a KU School of Engineering ambassador.
In spring 2022, Sevart was named a Barry M. Goldwater scholar as well as Outstanding Junior of the Year in the Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering.
She was also selected as a university representative for the Kansas Undergraduate Research Days at the Capitol event.
In fall 2021, Sevart won first place in the Society of Women Engineers national poster competition, and in spring 2021, she received the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship and an Undergraduate Research Award.
Sevart worked at Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita in the summer of 2021 as a materials and processes engineering intern, and most recently during summer 2022, she interned at the National Weather Service in State College, Pennsylvania, as a hydrology intern, with a focus on improving the accuracy of river forecasting models.
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Contact: Emily Ryan, The Commons, 785-864-6293, [email protected], @TheCommonsKU
Artist Fereshteh Toosi to be in residence Nov. 6-10, with talk planned Nov. 9
LAWRENCE — The Commons, in partnership with the Department of Visual Art and the Advanced Poetry Writing class, will host artist Fereshteh Toosi at the University of Kansas this month. Toosi’s work largely examines the relationships between humans and nature, and they utilize multiple media to create experiences for audiences.
Toosi designs experiences that pose questions and foster animistic connections through encounter, exchange and sensory inquiry. Their artwork involves documentary processes, oral history and archival research. Immersive performances are produced in conjunction with small sculptures, short films, installations, scores and poetry.
Toosi will give an artist talk at 6 p.m. Nov. 9 in the Forum at Marvin Hall.
During their residency, Toosi also will lead two workshops through which students will create poems based on ecologically stimulating sites on the Lawrence campus. From their poems and site-specific experiences, they will generate audio-augmented reality with Toosi.
“The workshops will expand on our class’s ongoing exploration of poetry as a medium that situates our individual experiences within the larger communities of which we are a part,” said Megan Kaminski, associate professor of English. “Toosi’s work offers opportunities to understand — as well as transform and re-vision — the ways we show up in the world and for each other. I’m so excited to see the work that comes out of the collaboration and for this opportunity for students to learn from an innovative and socially engaged artist and share their own creative research with the larger KU community.”
Once produced, the works generated by the class in collaboration with Toosi will be available for listening online, offering another way for campus visitors to experience the dynamism of KU’s campus.
Toosi recently earned a Knight New Work Award and a Miami Live Arts Lab Alliance residency. Their work, “Water Radio,” a series of contemplative canoe and kayak outings, was supported by The Ellies Creator Award.
Toosi is an assistant professor in the art and art history department of the College of Communication, Architecture and the Arts at Florida International University in Miami. Learn more about their work at http://fereshteh.net and http://oilancestors.com.
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Contact: Evan Riggs, Office of the Provost, 785-864-1085, [email protected], @KUProvost
11 graduate students advance to Three Minute Thesis Competition Finals
LAWRENCE – Eleven University of Kansas graduate students from four different academic units advanced to the finals of the Three Minute Thesis Competition. The finals will take place at 2 p.m. Nov. 9 in forum C of the Burge Union.
“KU’s first round of the 3MT captured cutting-edge research from fields of physical, natural and social sciences; engineering; education and music,” said Jennifer Roberts, vice provost for academic affairs and graduate studies. “Graduate student participants demonstrated the creativity, innovation and drive that ignites their own passion for research while effectively communicating the impact of their work to the community.
“It was both humbling and invigorating to see the amazing research KU’s graduate students are producing.”
The preliminary heats Nov. 1 presented 19 graduate students with the challenge of explaining their work effectively and engagingly to nonexperts within a three-minute timeframe. Eleven graduate students are advancing to KU’s final round:
1. James Adaryukov, psychology
2. Kalin Baca, chemical engineering
3. Katie Childers, bioengineering
4. Nicole D’Souza, bioengineering
5. Denise Finnegan-Hill, music
6. Jordan Gamble, mechanical engineering
7. Madeline Isom, chemistry
8. Xinyu Mai, physics
9. Sayuri Niyangoda, chemistry
10. Sirisha Thippabhotla, computer science
11. Jiahong Wang, curriculum & instruction
KU’s competition is part of a global event that highlights graduate student research by challenging students to explain their work effectively and engagingly to nonexperts.
All members of the KU and surrounding communities are welcome to attend the finals at no cost. The finals will also be livestreamed and available to view online by going to the 3MT website and clicking the “Final Round” on the homepage.
All finalists will have the option to participate in a professional head-and-shoulder portrait session and have their research spotlighted on the Office of Graduate Studies’ social media channels.
Judges will select a first-place winner who will receive a $500 award and a second-place winner who will receive $250. A People’s Choice winner will be voted on by the audience and receive $125. The first-place presenter will serve as KU’s representative at the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools 3MT Competition, which will take place March 29-31, 2023, in Chicago, with expenses paid by the Graduate Studies office.
The 3MT academic research communication competition was developed by the University of Queensland in Australia and was first held in 2008. 3MT competitions have been held at more than 900 universities in more than 85 countries worldwide.
For more information, contact the Office of Graduate Studies at [email protected].
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