Spring 23 Cory Undergraduate award recipients

photo credit: Sankara Ganesh, Abigail Heath, Samantha Kowalik and Avery Rice

Congratulations to the recipients of the Spring 2023 Ernest N. Cory Undergraduate Scholarship! This scholarship provides up to $1,000 for undergraduate students who have creatively contributed to Entomology Department research and/or extension. Choose "Read More" to find out about Sankara Ganesh, Abigail Heath, Samantha Kowalik and Avery Rice and their extraordinary efforts in Entomology.

​Sankara Ganesh is a senior Biological Sciences major specializing in Ecology and Evolution and minoring in Sustainability and Entomology. Since Summer 2021, he has been working as an undergraduate research technician in the Hamby Lab, an entomology lab focused on integrated pest management (IPM) research. After he graduates, Sankara is interested in pursuing a master’s and PhD in Entomology with the long term goal of promoting agricultural sustainability in developing countries through IPM research and extension. Through the Entomology Honors Program, he is currently investigating the potential for biological control of fall armyworm in Sub-Saharan Africa using Trichogramma parasitoid wasps. Outside of the lab, he volunteers at Insect Zoo educational outreach events and serves as the Undergraduate Representative of the Entomology Student Organization.
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Abigail Heath - I am a senior at the University of Maryland and I am currently pursuing a dual-degree in General Biology and Spanish Language. I have worked in the Pick Lab for nearly two years and I have spent my time studying gene regulatory elements in three different species, Drosophila melanogaster, Anopheles stephensi, and Oncopeltus fasciatus. In my final semester at the University I will be continuing my work in Oncopeltus and will be investigating the ability to restrict CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing activity to the Oncopeltus germline.
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My name is Samantha Kowalik, and I am majoring in Biology with a specialization in Microbiology and minoring in Entomology. I joined the Gruner lab in September 2021 as an undergraduate lab technician for the emerald ash borer (EAB) project. I have contributed to research on biocontrol agents (parasitoids) of EAB, gauging their establishment, abundance, and efficacy throughout Maryland. I have also assisted graduate student Angela Saenz with her research on parasitoid and EAB phenology. In the future, I hope to continue working with invasive species management through the Department of the Interior.
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My name is Avery Rice. I am majoring in Biodiversity and Conservation Biology as well as minoring in Sustainability. I am currently a lab technician in Dan Gruners lab where we are studying emerald ash borer and its biocontrol agents. I recently completed an internship where I studied the impacts on macroinvertebrate communities along a marsh upland gradient due to flood levels increase. I plan to continue my path in research and obtain a masters in zoology.