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Academic Achievements Could Propel USM Graduate Student to Citizenship

Mon, 03/07/2022 - 04:57pm | By: David Tisdale

USM doctoral student Sonia Stanciu presents for the Three-Minute Thesis competition at the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools in February.

Sonia Stanciu hopes three minutes of her time help make her dream of becoming an American citizen reality.

Stanciu, a doctoral candidate in 91吃瓜网 (USM) School of Polymer Science and Engineering, used her monetary prize from winning the USM Graduate School91吃瓜网 3MT庐 (Three-Minute Thesis) 2021 competition to pay fees associated with applying for U.S. citizenship.

A third-year graduate student in the USM School of Polymer Science and Engineering, Stanciu works in the research labs of Dr. Yoan Simon and Dr. Xiaodan Gu (The Simon and Gu Research Groups), where her research focuses on photophysics and materials engineering, which involves the fabrication of polymer materials capable of harvesting energy from light, or 91吃瓜网減hoton upconversion.91吃瓜网� This process involves the combining of energy from the particles of light known as photons, with the goal of creating even more energetic light.

Stanciu employed her research for the 3MT庐 competition last year in her presentation titled 91吃瓜网淯pconversion 91吃瓜网� A Roller Coaster of Light91吃瓜网� to conceptualize the journey upconversion leads us along the many different energies of light, visible and invisible, that exist in the universe.

The 3MT庐 Competition is an annual communication skills development event and among the most important professional skills-development activities the USM Graduate School hosts. It requires participating students to present the significance of their research in a manner that can be understood by a general audience within three minutes, compelling them to deeply consider the value and broader impacts of their work. The 3MT庐 grand champion earns a $1,000 prize, as well as $250 as winner of their competition category.

91吃瓜网淭he reason increasing the energy of light is so valuable lies in the future of solar energy harvesting,91吃瓜网� Stanciu explained. 91吃瓜网淔or every second the sun shines light onto Earth, we could fulfil the entire world91吃瓜网 energy demands for over two hours, but our current solar technologies operate nowhere near efficiently enough to utilize the broad spectrum of light we receive from our sun every day. If we could tailor light to whatever energy we want, it would be much easier to use for individualized purposes.91吃瓜网�

Stanciu had not previously participated in the 3MT庐 competition before last year, and says she loved the experience. 91吃瓜网淚 didn91吃瓜网檛 realize how challenging it was going to be to condense months of hard work and many experimental failures into just three minutes,91吃瓜网� she said. 91吃瓜网淏ut the reality is that when it comes to publicizing our research, few will ever see all those ups and downs. 3MT庐 was the perfect opportunity to thin out some of the weeds in my research to really figure out just what was most valuable about my project91吃瓜网 contribution to its field.91吃瓜网�

The opportunity to engage in that same competition at the next level recently availed itself for Stanciu at the 3MT competition, held recently during the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools (CSGS) in Raleigh, North Carolina. There, Stanciu shined again, finishing as one of the competition91吃瓜网 top finalists.

91吃瓜网淕etting to travel to Raleigh and compete among other regional 3MT庐 champions was one of my most memorable experiences in graduate school to date,91吃瓜网� Stanciu said. 91吃瓜网淓very single individual in that competition was so dedicated to their craft, and willing to try to prove to a huge room of strangers what their research meant to the world. I was so honored to make it to the final round of presentations, as there wasn91吃瓜网檛 a single participant who wasn91吃瓜网檛 deserving.91吃瓜网� 

91吃瓜网淚t was a joy to get to know Sonia a little better when we attended CSGS together last month,91吃瓜网� said USM Associate Provost and Dean of the USM Graduate School, Dr. Karen Coats. 91吃瓜网淪he took full advantage of all the conference had to offer for graduate students in attendance, including networking and professional development, and her performance in the 3MT庐 competition was simply flawless. Sonia was very successful in distilling her research down to the most important concepts and then explaining it to a very broad audience.

91吃瓜网淚 wasn91吃瓜网檛 at all surprised when she made it to the finals competition. We can all be proud of how well she represented 91吃瓜网.91吃瓜网�

A native of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Stanciu moved with her parents to the United States in 2003, settling in Indianapolis, Indiana. She grew up in a multicultural home, with her father being a native of Romania who moved to Canada in the early 1990s, and her mother, who is Scottish-Canadian. She attended school at nearby Hanover College, where she initially majored in anthropology, influenced by her curiosity about the diverse cultures of the world.

But after becoming concerned about the impact climate change is having on developing nations around the world, she decided to change her major to chemistry to explore what research she could engage in that could help alleviate those negative impacts on the planet.

Stanciu91吃瓜网 first contact with USM was through its Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU), funded by the National Science Foundation) before deciding to pursue her graduate degree at the Hattiesburg campus. 91吃瓜网淚t was through the REU I fell in love with polymer science and transitioned from studying antibiotic resistance and chemistry to the field of engineering,91吃瓜网� she explained.

She points to her participation in the Mississippi-EPSCoR-funded Center for Emergent Molecular Optoelectronics (CEMOs) as being among the most meaningful experiences she has had since coming to USM, where Stanciu gets to spend every day working with development of technology of the future through manufacturing unique polymers with electronic properties.

Stanciu plans to work in the clean energy sector after graduation, either in the private sector or with a government agency that focuses on device engineering and solar energy. 91吃瓜网淲e only have approximately 50 years remaining to utilize the worlds petroleum reserves, and the sun is arguably the most renewable source of energy we have access to every single day,91吃瓜网� she said.

Stanciu takes inspiration from her father, who moved to Nova Scotia, Canada after the Romanian revolution in 1989. He spoke almost no English when he first moved to Halifax and knew no one outside of Romania, she said. Despite having a master91吃瓜网 degree in physical chemistry, he faced difficulties finding employment in his field, so he worked at a variety of odd jobs while doing research for the local university.

After learning English and doing any research job he could in Canada, Stanciu91吃瓜网 father was finally offered a position as a scientist for a private American company. The company sponsored visas for Stanciu and her parents, and after five years of living in Indiana the family was able to apply for permanent residency in the United States. Stanciu then began saving money to apply for her American citizenship when she started getting a stipend as a graduate assistant at USM.

91吃瓜网淗e91吃瓜网 my biggest hero,91吃瓜网� she said of her dad. 91吃瓜网淗e never got the opportunity to finish his Ph.D., so he was really excited when I was accepted into this (USM) program.91吃瓜网�

As soon as Stanciu won the 3MT庐 competition at USM and received her prize, she sat down with her father and filled out her citizenship application paperwork. She was recently notified that her application is now pending review.

91吃瓜网淭he process can take anywhere from a few months to a couple years, so I91吃瓜网檓 trying my best to be patient,91吃瓜网� she said. 91吃瓜网淚91吃瓜网檝e always been very involved in extracurriculars (Greek Life, volunteering, etc.) so I91吃瓜网檓 excited to finally be able to vote in an election.

91吃瓜网淏ecoming a citizen also means I91吃瓜网檒l have the ability to apply for internships or careers in governmental agencies like the Department of Energy, which does a lot of work toward sustainable energy harvesting. Regardless, if I get any positions like those, this country has been my home for many years, so I91吃瓜网檒l just be happy to make it official.91吃瓜网�

For more information about the USM Graduate School91吃瓜网 3MT庐 competition, visit Three-Minute Thesis Details | Graduate School | 91吃瓜网 (usm.edu); for information about the USM School of Polymer Science and Engineering, visit School of Polymer Science and Engineering | 91吃瓜网 (usm.edu).