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The Archer RISE Award honors exceptional young women for their innovative scientific research or engineering design projects that further existing knowledge or develop solutions to pressing scientific challenges.
All those who apply for the RISE Award are eligible for the following awards:
The Archer RISE Award:
The Archer RISE Award honors the top young woman researcher or group of women researchers for their innovative scientific research or engineering design project that furthers existing knowledge or develops solutions to pressing scientific challenges.
1 winner – $2,500
The Archer Scientific Research Award:
The Scientific Research Award honors exceptional young women for their commitment to innovation in tackling challenging scientific questions while using authentic research practices to further existing knowledge or develop solutions to pressing scientific challenges.
Up to 2 winners – $500 each
The Archer Engineering & Technology Award:
The Engineering & Technology Award honors exceptional young women for their innovative engineering and design projects that further existing knowledge or develop solutions to pressing scientific challenges.
Up to 2 winners – $500 each
Awards will be paid to the student’s educational institution of choice to cover costs of tuition and fees for the following year. If the winning project is completed by more than one student, the award will be equally split among students.
To be eligible to apply for the RISE Award, all entrants must meet the following eligibility requirements:
1) To be eligible, you must be a girl, or a team of girls, attending a Los Angeles area high school.
2) All entrants must submit a detailed RISE Award Application (details below) with the required RISE Award Parental Consent Form (details below) by Monday, April 24, 2023, via email to stem@archer.org.
3) All entrants are required to attend the Archer STEM Symposium on Saturday, May 20, 2023, and present during the poster session. Please complete this poster submission form by Monday, April 24, 2023, in addition to your application. All students who submit this form will have space for their poster (36"x24") at the Symposium. Please do not mount posters on foam board so they can be easily hung at the event. Students will have the opportunity to stand by their poster and present their research to all interested parties. In addition, the Symposium Committee will review all poster submissions and invite a select number of students to present in the 15-minute break-out sessions. You will be notified by Monday, May 1, 2023, if you are invited to present during a 15-minute break-out session.
4) Entrants are required to enlist the support of a research advisor or mentor to guide their work. The mentor or advisor should be a trained professional in your field of study.
5) Only original and authentic works will be considered. Students conducting research at professional or university laboratories must submit an original project that is not part of an existing research project, grant, or thesis.
Archer will confirm that all required documents are submitted (Rise Award Parental Consent Form, Archer Rise Award Application, and poster submission form) and eligibility requirements are met.
A team of STEM professionals will review all entrant applications to select the semi-finalists for the Archer RISE Award
Students will be informed if they were chosen as a semi-finalist for the Archer RISE Award.
Semi-finalists for the Archer RISE Award will present their poster at the annual Archer Student STEM Symposium on Saturday, May 20, 2023, and answer questions from the panel of judges.
The Effects of Curcumin and Paeonol on Oxidative Stress induced by Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate in the Chicken Chorioallantoic Membrane Assay.
2022 Archer Scientific Research Award Winners
Olivia Jarvie ’22 (The Archer School for Girls)
Snailed it! : The Effect of Helix aspersa Snail Mucus and Antimicrobial Bacterial Cellulose Hydrogel on Wound Healing in Caenorhabditis elegans
Karen Garcia ’23 (The Archer School for Girls)
The Effect of Piperlongumine as an Inhibitor for the BRAF V600E Mutation from the Ras/MAPK Signaling Pathway in Caenorhabditis elegans
2022 Archer Engineering & Technology Award Winners
Katherine Lee ’22 (The Archer School for Girls)
Detecting and Identifying Cell Debris and Foreign Material on Complex Medical Instruments through Neural Networks and Image Comparison
Noa Wallock ’22 (The Archer School for Girls)
Repairing Survivor Aftercare: Self-administered Intimate Sample Collection Device to Eliminate the Retraumatization of Sexual Assault Survivors
Apply for the Archer RISE Award
You must email your parental consent form and application to STEM@archer.org by Monday, April 24, 2023.
Application Requirements
Your Archer RISE Award Application document must:
Be typed, double-spaced, 12-point font with 1-inch margins
Contain a header in the upper right-hand corner that includes your last name, first initial followed by a space with a page number (example: Last, F. 2)
Have all of the clearly-labeled sections described below; each section should meet the criteria listed
Be submitted as a .pdf file
Be no longer than 12 pages (Works Cited, References, and Acknowledgements section is not counted in this page limit)
Include in-line citation for all Works Cited and References (APA style)
Not include direct quotes from sources - describe what others have found in your own words
Be emailed to STEM@archer.org by the Monday, April 24, 2023, deadline - the subject line should be “2023 Archer RISE Award Application"
Please sign and submit a copy of the RISE Award Parental Consent Form for each applicant by Monday, April 24, 2023. If the project is completed by a team of girls, each member of the team needs to submit a signed RISE Award Parental Consent Form. Please send all completed forms to stem@archer.org by Monday, April 24, 2023, with your RISE Award Application.
Your Archer RISE Award application should include the following sections with the criteria described below within each section: 1. Contact Information
Name(s)
Grade(s)
E-mail address(es)
School
Mentor/Advisor(s)
Mentor/Advisor email address(es)
2. Title
Provides a clear and concise summary of the project purpose or research focus
3. Abstract
Brief technical summary of the entire paper (problem, research objective/question OR engineering problem, methods, major findings, conclusions); does not reference other literature
Concise; 1 paragraph; no more than 250 words
If major findings are not complete at the time of application submission, please note this in the abstract.
4. Introduction
Background: Defining the research problem and inspiration
Begin with a wide picture of the problem you have chosen to address and narrow to your specific problem, research objective/question, OR engineering problem.
Identify the scientific concepts and prior research that help explain what is currently known about the topic and narrow the focus to details that are pertinent to the study, highlighting the unknowns that your research attempts to address.
Introduce the problem addressed by the study, providing statistics that give context to the prevalence and scope of the problem.
For engineering or design projects, include prior art and/or inspirations.
Assume that your audience is literate, but not necessarily familiar with the background or details of the problem you have chosen to address.
Research Objectives:
Once you have established context and justification for your research question, the research objectives and methods used to address them are clearly outlined:
What were you attempting to determine/measure? If applicable, what was your hypothesis/predictions, and why?
How did you test/measure your objectives/hypothesis?
Importance and Impact:
Clearly describes why the research is important
Convincingly explains what this research can tell us that we don’t already know OR clearly states social and scientific implications of engineering or technology projects
How does your work have value to the real world now, or how might it in the future?
5. Methods
Informative subheadings are used to outline the logical flow of procedures
Describe how you performed your research or designed your project and how you collected data.
Include the methods you used; mention common methods and any modifications to published methods/protocols utilized. Cite specific protocols that were followed. Clearly identify deviations to the cited methods/protocols, and provide clear reasoning and justification/support for deviation.
Include the materials you used (including common materials).
Give sources of all chemicals, uncommon materials, and biological specimens.
Include model organism pre-experiment handling and care.
Include images, diagrams, or photos, as appropriate.
For app or coding projects, include the language you are using, which platform you are targeting, and what libraries or APIs you are linking to, if applicable.
For engineering projects, you are encouraged to include photos or documentation of prototypes and design processes.
Describe how the data was summarized and analyzed.
6. Results
If the project has concluded by the date of submission:
Present your findings with sufficient detail and include all relevant data and observations.
Include graphs, tables, and/or charts for quantitative data. Make their purpose clear with supporting text.
Include graphics to summarize data appropriately.
For engineering projects, include quantifiable measures of success for your project.
If the project has not concluded by the date of submission, provide a description of expected results.
7. Discussion & Conclusion
If the project has concluded by the date of submission:
Describe how the results address your primary question or problem.
Interpret the results so a reader understands the implication(s) of your findings.
Address limitations of the project and potential sources of error.
Provide suggestions for improvements to the study, and determine what experiments could be performed in the future to refine your conclusions.
If the project has not concluded by the date of submission, describe how the expected results could address your primary question or problem.
8. Works Cited, References & Acknowledgements
Acknowledge anyone who helped or contributed to the project.
Include all resources that were used. Any piece of information that is not your own original text or is not common knowledge must be properly cited and quoted.
APA Format
Engineering and Technology Application Judges
Lynn Bresnahan
Lynn is the Director of Operational Excellence at Agero, the largest provider of white label roadside and automotive assistance services. She spent the first thirteen years of her career with Kimberly-Clark developing new products, domestically and internationally, driving results as a process engineer in manufacturing, and building high performing teams as an operations manager. She is the proud patent holder for a dispersible moist wipe. Lynn received her BS in Chemical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and her executive MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Brooklin Cohen
Brooklin Cohen is an Archer alumna who graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson University. Throughout college, she completed two internships and a semester-long co-op at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where she now works as a Mechatronics Engineer. Since joining JPL full time in 2018, she spent 5 years working on operations development for the Adaptive Caching Assembly within the Sampling and Caching Subsystem on the Mars Perseverance rover. More recently, Brooklin has been working in new roles spanning Robotics, Systems, and Mechanical Engineering for the Mars Sample Return campaign that includes a lander that will be responsible for returning rock samples collected by the Perseverance rover to Earth.
Louise Jandura
Louise Jandura is the Chief Engineer for the Mechanical Systems Engineering, Fabrication and Test Division at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. She has been responsible for the development, testing, and delivery of flight hardware for numerous projects, delivering hardware for the Space Shuttle, deep space, and multiple Mars missions. Her experience with the MSL Curiosity Sampling System as well as the Mars 2020 Perseverance Sampling and Caching Subsystem covered the entire project lifecycle. Louise was named a JPL Fellow for her expertise in mechanisms and sampling system development, including the advancement of the state-of-the-practice for robotic planetary sampling systems from architecture through development and operations.
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Science Research Application Judges
Dr. Ashley Kita
Dr. Ashley Kita is a surgeon scientist in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery at UCLA. She is passionate about providing evidence-based, patient-centered care for patients with problems of the ear, nose, and throat. Her patients have inspired her to develop tests for certain conditions, design ways to use video to monitor vital signs, and to create new therapeutics to deliver medications topically. Her research has been funded by the National Institute of Health, American Neurological Society, American Academy of Otolaryngology, American Society of Hematology, UCLA's MedTech Challenge, and UCLA's Innovation Fund. She also helps run the American Academy of Otolaryngology’s annual ENTrepreneur Faceoff Innovation competition.
Sacha Prashad
Sacha Prashad is a Director of Translational Sciences at Allogene Therapeutics, where she leads the biomarker design for CAR-T therapies in solid tumors. In her role at Allogene, Sacha has established cross functional collaborations to develop improved therapies for renal cell carcinoma patients. She also manages the translational operations pipeline across all of Allogene’s assets. Sacha holds a PhD in molecular biology from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) where she was a Howard Hughes Gilliam Scholar and a Philip J. Whitcome fellow. Her scientific training was done with Dr. Hanna Mikkola in the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine & Stem Cell Research.
Dr. Shana Svendsen
Dr. Shana Svendsen’s PhD dissertation and post-doctoral work focused on the transplantation of cells genetically engineered to produce the neurotransmitter, GABA, and protective protein, GDNF, respectively, as therapy for diseases like Parkinson’s. In 2004, Dr. Svendsen joined Promega Corporation as a Senior Research Scientist in Research and Development for new cell-based products. In 2010, Dr. Svendsen joined Cedars-Sinai as a Senior Scientist in the Regenerative Medicine Institute (RMI). Her focus is the use of stem cells and gene therapy for various degenerative disorders. She is currently the scientific editor for the RMI, helping to publish manuscripts, fund grants, and move stem cell and gene therapies to the clinic through FDA-approval of investigational new drugs.
The Archer School for Girls admits students of any race, color, religion, national and ethnic origin, sexual orientation or other legally protected status to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national and ethnic origin, sexual orientation or other legally protected status in its hiring or in the administration of its educational policies and programs, admissions policies, financial aid programs or other school-administered programs.
The Archer School for Girls’ mission is to educate students in an environment specifically designed for girls. As such, the school will consider any candidate for admission who identifies as a girl. Once admitted to Archer, all students in good academic standing who abide by Archer’s code of conduct and who meet requirements for graduation will be eligible to receive an Archer diploma, regardless of any change in sexual identity or other legally protected status.