College’s Alumni Network Announces its 2016 Summer Undergraduate Award Winners

The College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences (CMNS) Alumni Network announced its 2016 Undergraduate Summer Research, Travel and Educational Enrichment Award winners.

The eight recipients will receive awards ranging from $500 to $2,000 to help defray costs related to conducting research or traveling to field courses, conferences or other summer activities that enhance or expand the student's educational and professional development.

The awardees included one biology student, Abigail DiVito. DiVito is a biological sciences major with a specialization in ecology and evolution and a minor in sustainability studies. DiVito, a research assistant in the laboratory of UMD Associate Professor of Biology Carlos Machado, will continue her honors thesis research focusing on building an RNA library and using bioinformatics to create a new evolutionary history for fig wasps. While researchers previously thought that one wasp species exclusively pollinated each fig species, a more accurate model for diversification has been suggested, requiring modification of accepted wasp phylogenies. She will also work on a project involving genome editing in fruit flies.

To see the full list of recipients, visit https://cmns.umd.edu/news-events/features/3501.