HIGH POINT, N.C., July 11, 2011 – Laura Lee, a rising senior majoring in biochemistry and physics at High Point University, is spending the summer interning at NASA as part of the Synthetic Biology Group at the Ames Research Center at Moffett Field in California.
During her internship, Lee has been conducting research on different enzyme complexes that convert into fuels and chemicals at the ARC facility under the direction of Dr. Chad Paavola, who holds a doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley and a postdoctoral degree from Duke University.
Lee, will pursue a doctorate degree, says she is at a very unique place to make incredible connections that will help further her education.
“Not only am I living with other NASA interns and working for a NASA scientist, but I have the chance to listen to lectures from scientists at the top of their fields and from NASA administrators,” says Lee.
This is not Lee’s first experience with NASA. Remarkably, she spent last summer interning at NASA at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
“It was an amazing experience to work at NASA’s leading center for robotics,” says Lee.
The NASA program, called Motivating Undergraduates in Science and Technology (MUST), admits only 100 scholars a year from all over the nation, and Lee credits her NASA acceptance to her academic experiences at HPU.
“My participation in this program, resulting in my second internship at NASA, is all thanks to the education I received at High Point University,” she says. “Particularly my physics professor, Dr. Aaron Titus, has greatly encouraged his students to delve into undergraduate research, and that has further motivated me.”
At High Point University, every student receives an extraordinary education in an inspiring environment with caring people.℠ HPU, located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina, is a liberal arts institution with over 4,200 undergraduate and graduate students from 51 countries and 46 states at campuses in High Point and Winston-Salem. It is ranked by US News and World Report at No. 3 among Regional Colleges in the South. Forbes.com ranks HPU in the top 7 percent among “America’s Best Colleges.” Parade Magazine lists HPU in the top 25 private schools in the nation. The university offers 50 undergraduate majors, 43 undergraduate minors and 14 graduate degree programs. It is accredited by the Commission of Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and is a member of the NCAA, Division I and the Big South Conference. Visit High Point University on the Web at highpoint.edu.
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Pam Haynes
Communication Specialist
336-841-9055
[email protected]