2009 Isenberg Scholar Recipients
Pictured back row (left to right): Dr. Michael F. Malone, Ronnie and Eugene Isenberg Distinguished Professor of Engineering and Dean, College of Engineering; Mohamed Marwan A. Mattar (CNS); Anthony J. McCaffrey (SBS); Supratim Mukherjee (NCS); Ereni Markos (ISOM); Dr. D. Anthony Butterfield, former Dean, Isenberg School of Management. Front row: Tejaswini S. Kale (CNS); Sandhya Mohan (ISOM) and Tracy Heckler Panzarella (Engineering).
Tejaswini S. Kale
College of Natural Sciences
Tejaswini is a 4th year Ph.D. candidate in chemistry whose research focuses on the design and synthesis of macromolecules for solar cell applications. In 2004, she earned a Bachelor's degree in Technology in Paints Technology from the Mumbai University Institute of Technology.
As an Isenberg Scholar, Tejaswini is accelerating her work on developing materials for organic polymer-based solar cells. At the same time, she is increasing her exposure to the business perspective that must accompany the successful transfer of technologies from the lab to industry. In 2007, Tejaswini and three other students pitched organic solar cell technology through their start-up company, Surya, at two business plan competitions. In the first, the Ignite Clean Energy Competition, the team was a semifinalist. In the second, the UMass Technology Innovation Challenge, the team won second prize.
Tejaswin's ultimate aim is to return to her home country, India, where she will apply her technical expertise in developing efficient alternative energy technologies.
Ereni Markos
Isenberg School of Management
A 3rd-year Ph.D. student in marketing, Ereni focuses on the interaction of marketing, privacy, and technology. Her research investigates the impact on consumers, marketing, and policy makers of Web 2.0, a set of applications and technologies that encompass social networks, blogging, video blogging, online auctions, and other applications. From both U.S. and international perspectives, she explores how the Internet is evolving and influencing consumers and management. In a recent co-authored paper, she examined consumers' awareness of their digital footprints on the Web and how they manage self-branding and privacy control in the face of information technology.
As an Isenberg Scholar, Ereni is attending conferences and seminars devoted to Web and Internet technologies, public policy, and marketing. She is also using the award to expand her research beyond student populations, which she believes will augment her findings and dissertation.
Ereni has an M.A. degree in marketing communications from Emerson College in Boston. As an undergraduate at the University of La Verne-California (Athens, Greece), she earned a B.S. degree in finance and a B.A. degree in English literature.
Mohamed Marwan A. Mattar
College of Natural Sciences
A Ph.D. student in computer science, Mohamed couples research in artificial intelligence (AI) with interests in entrepreneurship and management. He hopes to start a company that sells products developed from his research. For a Ph.D. project, he is building 3D photo-realistic fly-throughs of a scene from photographs. His aim is to improve the viewing experience by exploring the 3rd dimension "hidden" in photographs. He plans to apply these and other techniques to localize and identify collected aquatic particles. To this end, he has collaborated with marine biologists in Maine and Louisiana since 2004.
With resources from the Isenberg Award, Mohammed is attending conferences in his research domain and taking courses in entrepreneurship and management. He is also devoting attention to two projects, both with potential as start-up businesses. The first is a photo analysis system with the aim of building a social networking website for scientists interested in image analysis. The second is an early-stage company in Egypt that will provide affordable, flexible web software for the public schools.
Mohamed earned an M.S. degree in computer science from UMass Amherst in 2008. For his master's thesis, he developed a technique for the joint alignment of curves that allows psychologists to align event-related potential signals in localizing brain responses.
As an undergraduate at UMass Amherst, he majored in both computer science and mathematics.
Anthony J. McCaffrey
College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
A Ph.D. candidate in psychology, Tony focuses on research that explores techniques to overcome "fixedness," i.e., getting stuck when solving problems with concrete objects. He hopes through his research to help engineers and scientists who strive for innovation, and technology managers who want to create innovation-friendly environments for their researchers.
Tony will use the Isenberg Award to take the Isenberg School-College of Engineering Technology Management course to learn about issues relevant to managing an innovation-friendly environment. He is also using the award to devise structured communication with engineers on campus to learn about their problem-solving challenges and their specific skill sets. And he will attempt to teach engineers techniques to counteract fixedness and to refine his techniques based on their specific needs and skills.
For his master's degree in psychology from UMass Amherst in 2008, Tony completed the thesis, "The Effect of Context on the Interpretation of Noun-Noun Combinations: Eye Movement and Behavioral Evidence." In addition, he holds master's degrees in theology (Weston Jesuit School of Theology), philosophy (Loyola University), and computer science (Indiana University).
Sandhya Mohan
Isenberg School of Management
Sandya is pursuing an MBA to integrate her strong background in information technology with general management practice. Her career goal is to help businesses and nonprofits improve their efficiency and effectiveness through creative IT solutions. Before joining the Isenberg School, Sandya was a software engineer for two years with Sasken Communication Technologies in Bangalore. At Sasken, she participated in design and testing at different stages of the product life cycle. She also trained a team of 15 engineers and served large clients, including Nortel Networks and Alcatel-Lucent.
With resources from the Isenberg Award, Sandhya plans to start a consulting business for local nonprofits and small businesses in the Amherst area. Combining her technical background and her current business education, she hopes to improve operations for her clients by finding new efficiencies in their existing IT infrastructures and finding new solutions with large efficiency gains at small initial costs. To launch her business, Sandhya is writing a business plan and will create a company web site. She will use her award to cover travel- and marketing-related expenses and costs involving research into technologies of benefit to her clients.
Before joining Sasken, Sandhya earned a bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science from Anna University in Chennai.
Supratim Mukherjee
College of Natural Sciences
A third-year Ph.D. student in microbiology, Supratim's research focuses on developing industrially important strains of Clostridium phytofermentans, popularly known as the Q Microbe. Discovered by UMass Amherst microbiology professor Susan Leschine, the Q Microbe is capable of converting plant waste products into ethanol. In the lab, Supratim has gained the expertise to generate improved strains of this organism, which he believes can transform the energy industry by optimizing the biomass conversion process for more rapid, cost-effective ethanol production.
Supratim is using resources from the Isenberg Award to develop skills to commercially exploit his work in the lab. By attending seminars in strategic management, he is improving his understanding of diversification and of strategic decision making during difficult times. He plans to take the campus's interdisciplinary course in Technology Management, which he believes will help him to develop and implement sustainable business models. His interaction with management students will help him to improve his understanding of patent protection, team dynamics, and other business activities. And he will use the Isenberg Award to network with professors and entrepreneurs.
Before joining his current Ph.D. program, Supratim earned M.S. and B.S. degrees in biotechnology from Bangalore University.
Tracy Heckler Panzarella
College of Engineering
A fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in chemical engineering, Tracy focuses on the synthesis and applications of luminescent semiconductor nanocrystals, also known as quantum dots (QDs). Their electronic and optical properties endow them with applications in clinical diagnostics, photovoltaics, and nanoelectronics. Tracy's original contributions include synthesizing ZnSe:Mn-doped QDs using a templating method. She has also functionalized their surfaces to make them water dispersible. She is exploring applications in photovoltaics and their commercialization through her student team-run company, QD Tech, which was the grand prize winner in UMass Amherst's 2009 Innovation Challenge. The company's aim is to successfully synthesize large volumes of QDs for-low cost production and greater efficiency in the photovoltaic (solar cell) market.
With the Isenberg Award, Tracy can devote more time to QD Tech, including refinement and expansion of its business plan. She plans to leverage the award to obtain greater exposure both to mentors and courses in the Isenberg School. That includes learning the process of applying for grant funding, including SBIR and STTR grants, which she believes are suitable for her business.
Tracy earned a B.S. in chemical engineering from Rutgers University in 2005. In 2004, she was an R&D intern with Colgate-Palmolive's Personal Care division.
