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Research
Training Program
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Highlights
from 2006
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Updated:
23 February 2006
Smithsonian
Institution
National Museum of Natural History
Research
Training Program
Finalist
List - 2006
Session
Dates
28 May 2006 - 5 August 2006
A
total of 20 undergraduate students
are anticipated to join RTP Class of '06.
Finalist
List
|
Statistics
FinalistReview
Summary
By
the extended application deadline of Wednesday,
15 February 2006 we had received a total of
192 applications for internship placement including
19 for general internships and 6 for the Notre
Dame Partnership program. There were 167 applications
received for the RTP, although not all were
complete. Of these 153 were complete enough
to review. Discipline breakdown:
Anthropology
- 61 applications
Botany - 8 applications
Entomology - 8 applications
Invertebrate
Zoology - 7 applications
Mineral Sciences - 22 applications
Paleobiology - 17 applications
Zoology - 30 applications
Due
to continuing problems with our electronic systems
our standard receipt and review process had
to be modified. All application documents received
(via e-mail, fax, mail and personal delivery)
were processed as paper documents and also entered
separately into our on-line system, the Academic
Portal. Three evaluators (Lynn Copes, Chris
Hardy, and Elisa Maldonado), all former RTP
participants and therefore uniquely familiar
with the program, were selected from outside
the institution (Arizona, California, and Pennsylvania)
to conduct a prescreening of the entire application
set to identify those best to forward as semifinalists.
Initial external prescreening was completed
Friday, 17 Feb 06. In parallel, discipline-specific
reviewers from the RTP '06
panel from within the NMNH community screened
"paper copies" of applications. Due
to small review sets Entomology and Invertebrate
Zoology were combine and the IZ judge represented
both disciplines. The Anthropology judge did
not participate in the review but in their place
screener Lynn Copes evaluated Anthropology applications
and nominated finalists. Final prescreening
was completed by noon on Tuesday, 21 Feb 06
and 46 applicants identified as finalists.
Results
from both reviews were combine. Finalists were
announced at 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, 21 February
2006.
A
panel of five judges (Hunt, McCoy, Smythe, Wen
and Woodman) evaluated applications from all
46 finalists by completing a 100 point score
sheet. Elements considered during scoring included:
- ACADEMIC
BACKGROUND - (10 points possible)
- ACADEMIC
PERFORMANCE - (10 points possible)
- NATURAL
HISTORY BACKGROUND - (10 points possible)
- MOTIVATION
TO PARTICIPATE - (15 points possible)
- CAREER
GOALS - (10 points possible)
- CAREER
POTENTIAL - (10 points possible)
- CAREER
IMPACT - (15 points possible):
- LETTERS
OF RECOMMENDATION - (10 points possible)
- COMPENSATING
CHARACTERISTICS - (10 points possible)
Reviewers
typically score differently with some generally
awarding higher scores and others awarding lower
scores. To adjust for these differences, finalist
scores were normalized based on applicant rank.
The judges met the first week of March to discuss
rankings, nominate candidates for participation
and identify appropriate research advisors.
The
RTP '06 panel:
-
Laurie Burgess: representing Anthropology
(previously served on several RTP selecting
panels)
- Gene Hunt: representing Paleobiology
(former RTP intern and new curatorial hire)
- Tim McCoy: representing Mineral Sciences
(served on many RTP selection panels, hosted
many RTP students)
- Ted Schultz: representing Entomology
(hosted several RTP and other interns and representing
Dept. Chairs as well as information link to
NMNH administration)
- Ashleigh Smythe: representing Invertebrate
Zoology. (current Post Doctoral fellow and link
to our fellows and graduate students community)
- Jun Wen: representing Botany (former
post dococtoral fellow and new curatorial hire)
- Neal Woodman: representing Vertebrate
Zoology (affiliated agency representative, hosted
several RTP and other interns, served on RTP
scoring panels, also information link to Senate
of Scientists)
IMPORTANT:
The posting of finalist status is not definitive.
Due to regular adjustments in review sets, circumstances
often dictate a change in status. No applicant
should consider themselves completely eliminated
from consideration for a position in the RTP
until the final status is released and award
notices posted - 8 March 2006.
Research
Training Program
Finalists - 2006
Finalists:
46
| Name |
| ANTRAM,
Alexis |
| ARBUTHNOT,
Margaret |
| ARGUELLO,
Alexander
|
| ARMGARDT,
Emily |
| BARKLEY,
Madison |
| BARTON,
Melissa
|
| BOTERO,
Sergio
|
| BROWN,
Julia |
| CLAVIJO-BAQUET,
Sabrina |
| COCKRELL,
Bryan |
| DA
SILVA, Cecilia |
| DUARTE,
Juliana
|
| ENNIS,
Magan |
| FAUST,
Katherine |
| GERARD,
Teri |
| GODLOVE,
Alicia |
| GRABIELE,
Mariana
|
| GUTHRIE,
Kristopher |
| HESH,
Christopher |
| JOB,
Jayme |
| JOHNSON,
Melanie |
| KAZIMER,
Katherine
|
| KOCH,
Hauke |
| KRANTZ,
Melendy |
| KRZYSTAN,
Andrea |
| LANNA,
Emilio |
| LAWLER,
Christin |
| MARSTELLER,
Sara |
| MARTINEZ
LANFRANCO, Juan Andres |
| MCMAHAN,
Caleb
|
| MOSES,
Sylvia |
| MURPHY,
Rachel |
| NG,
Samuel |
| NOVKOVIC,
Biljana |
| ORESKA,
Matthew
|
| ORTIZ
VALENCIA, Edgardo |
| PHILLIPS,
Jennifer |
| RASMUSSEN,
Nick |
| SAENZ,
Laura |
| SALVIATI,
Victor |
| SARDI,
Maria
|
| SAUPE,
Erin |
| SPECIALE,
Valerie |
| STRAHL,
Maya |
| VANN,
Kimberly |
| VOIGT,
Robert |
Statistics:
The '06 finalists includes 67% women; the majority
are in their Junior year (37%); and most (50%)
represent a biological focus.
CITIZENSHIP:
Foreign applicants represent 26% of the
finalist pool, which is consistent with
previous RTP years. The finalist set includes
12 non-US citizens representing 8 different
countries.
Argentina
- 1
Brazil - 2
Colombia - 2
Germany - 1
Guatemala - 1
Peru - 1
Serbia - 1
Uruguay - 3
GENDER:
The finalist group includes 67% women
and 33% men.
Male
15 - (33%)
Female 31 - (67%)
YEAR
IN SCHOOL:
The majority of the finalists, 17, or
37%, are currently in their Junior year,
which is typical for the RTP finalist
set. However, unlike previous RTP years
where there are typically more underclassmen
(freshman and sophomores) in the set,
this year upper classmen make up the majority
at 39%. The upperclassman influx is partly
an artifact of providing opportunities
for graduating seniors and those recently
graduated the opportunity to participate
in the program this year as compensation
for having to cancel the '05 session.
Freshman:
3
Sophomore: 8
Junior: 17
Non-graduating Senior: 6
Graduating Senior: 9
Graduated: 3
TOTAL: 46
DISCIPLINE:
We anticipate placing 2-3 students in
the anthropological sciences, 4-5 in the
geological sciences, and 5-6 in the biological
sciences. The composition of the finalist
set was targeted to reflect these percentages.
Anthropological
Sciences - 9 (20%)
Biological
Sciences - 23 (50%)
- Botany
4
- Entomology
4
- Invertebrate
Zoology 4
- Vertebrate
Zoology 11
Geological
Sciences - 14 (30%)
-
Mineral Science & Geology 7
- Paleobiology
7
UNIVERSITY
ATTENDING:
The finalist set includes students from
43 different colleges and universities.
Appalachian
State University
Berry College
Bethel College
College of William and Mary
Colorado College
Cornell College
Eckerd College
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania
Erskine College
Florida State University
Furman University
George Mason University
Ithaca College
Lewis and Clark College
Louisiana State University
Minnesota State Universion, Moorhead
Morehead State University
Mount Holyoke College
Oklahoma State University
Pomona College
Pontifica Universidad Javeriana
Princeton University
Princeton University
Richard Stockton College of New Jersey
Saint Louis University
Seattle University
St John's University
St. Mary's College of Maryland
Universidad de la Republica - 3
Universidad de los Andes
Universidad de san Carlos de Guatemala
Universidad Nacional de Misiones
Universidad Nacional de San Agustinn de
Arequipa
Universidade Estadual Paulista
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janerio
University of California, Berkeley
University of Mary Washington
University of Notre Dame
University of Novi Sad
University of Rostock
Vanderbilt University
Vassar College
Yale University - 2
ADVISOR:
Applicants selected 35 different potential
advisors.
Baldwin,
Carole
Billeck, William
Braun, Mike - 2
Brown, John
Carrano, Matt - 3
Chesser, Terry
Coddington, Jon
de Queiroz, Kevin
Erwin, Doug
Faden, Bob
Fiske, DIck
Funk, Vicki
Furth, David
Gardner, Al
Huber, Brian - 2
James, Helen - 2
Kress, John
MacPherson, Glen
McCoy, Tim - 2
McDiarmid, Roy
Mead, Jim
Merrill, Bill
Owsley, Doug
Piperno, Dolores
Potts, Rick - 3
Roper, Clyde - 2
Ruetzler, Klaus
Schultz, Ted
Strong, Ellen
Taylor, Paul - 2
Vicenzi, Ed
Wen, Jun
Wilson, Don
Wing, Scott
Wise, Mike - 2
ETHNICITY:
There are 3 finalists who self identified
through an optional questionnaire that
they consider themselves an under represented
US minority.
Black
or African American: 2
Hispanic American: 1
|
2006
|
Applicant
Pool
|
Semi-
finalist
|
Finalist
Set
|
Student
Participants
|
| Academic
Status |
#
|
%
|
#
|
%
|
#
|
%
|
#
|
%
|
| |
Freshman |
13
|
7%
|
|
|
3
|
7%
|
|
|
| |
Sophomore |
30
|
17%
|
|
|
8
|
17%
|
|
|
| |
Junior |
56
|
32%
|
|
|
17
|
37%
|
|
|
| |
Non-graduating Senior |
15
|
9%
|
|
|
6
|
13%
|
|
|
| |
Graduating Senior |
29
|
17%
|
|
|
9
|
20%
|
|
|
| |
Recent Graduate |
6
|
3%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Other |
9
|
5%
|
|
|
3
|
6%
|
|
|
| |
Unknown |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Research
Discipline |
#
|
%
|
#
|
%
|
#
|
%
|
#
|
%
|
| |
Anthropology |
61
|
40%
|
|
|
9
|
20%
|
|
|
| |
Botany |
8
|
5%
|
|
|
4
|
9%
|
|
|
| |
Entomology |
8
|
5%
|
|
|
4
|
9%
|
|
|
| |
Invertebrate Zoology |
7
|
4%
|
|
|
4
|
9%
|
|
|
| |
Mineral / Geo-Sciences |
32
|
21%
|
|
|
7
|
15%
|
|
|
| |
Paleobiology |
17
|
11%
|
|
|
7
|
15%
|
|
|
| |
Vertebrate Zoology - Birds |
9
|
5%
|
|
|
5
|
11%
|
|
|
| |
Vertebrate
Zoology - Fishes |
1
|
1%
|
|
|
1
|
2%
|
|
|
| |
Vertebrate
Zoology - Herps |
8
|
5%
|
|
|
2
|
4%
|
|
|
| |
Vertebrate
Zoology - Mammals |
12
|
8%
|
|
|
3
|
6%
|
|
|
| |
Vertebrate
Zoology - general |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
General
/ Unknown |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Ethnicity |
#
|
%
|
#
|
%
|
#
|
%
|
#
|
%
|
| |
Minority
status* |
15
|
9%
|
|
|
3
|
6%
|
|
|
| |
African American
|
3
|
20%
|
|
|
2
|
67%
|
|
|
| |
Asian American
|
6
|
40%
|
|
|
|
|
| | |
