NSF Funding Supports Student Exploration of Postgraduate Opportunities

Laura Bolduc, an Environmental Studies-Mathematics major with a double major in Computer Science, became the first St. Lawrence student to visit the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University as part of a recently funded National Science Foundation award.   

As part of the trip, Bolduc toured the Life Sciences, Computer Science, and Biochemistry departments, as well as the Biodesign Institute, where she met with professors and graduate students to learn about their research. 

“Specifically, at the Biodesign Institute,” says Laura Bolduc, “I was able to meet with three professors about a variety of research including internet censorship, modeling collective behavior, and using machine learning to predict the symptoms of Covid-19 patients.” She also joined conference calls and graduate student meetings about ongoing paper submissions. 

Bolduc’s trip to ASU is part of a mentorship exchange established by Dr. Kevin Angstadt ’14, Assistant Professor of Computer Science. Alongside Dr. Stephanie Forrest at ASU and Dr. Westley Weimer at the University of Michigan, he is one of three Principle Investigators on a $1.2 National Science Foundation grant to develop improved techniques for software and hardware design. The grant includes $100,000 support for student and faculty research at St. Lawrence University over the course of four years. 

“NSF grants of this magnitude in Computer Science include efforts to broaden participation of populations that have remained underrepresented in computing,” explains Angstadt. “Laura’s trip to Dr. Forrest’s lab at ASU is just the start of a mentorship exchange that my collaborators and I have designed to improve student experiences at all three of our institutions.” The exchange also includes plans to invite graduate students from ASU and Michigan to St. Lawrence’s campus to present their work, interact with students, and learn about academic opportunities at four-year Liberal Arts institutions. 

This mentorship exchange supports effective pathways from undergraduate to graduate studies and provides role models in places where they are critical for retention. Bolduc’s trip to ASU culminated in a meeting with a graduate admissions advisor about the process for applying to graduate programs, such as those offered at ASU.   

“Overall, the trip offered a broad view of life of a postgrad student at ASU,” reflected Bolduc after returning from her trip. “It allowed me to actually consider graduate studies as a feasible option after finishing my undergraduate degree at St. Lawrence.”