BUILD Students of the Week: March 15, 2019

Published March 15, 2019

Every Friday we'll highlight one BUILD Trainee from each of the Learning Communities -- 295, 395 and 495 -- so that you can get to know them better.

UNIV 295

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Martin Plascencia

Martin Plascencia
Associate

Major: Microbiology

Hails From: Lawndale, Calif.

Research Interests: C1q modulation of Chemokine levels in HMDM

Personal Interests: I enjoy rock climbing, sailing, Brazilian jiu jitsu, and song-writing.

Favorite Scientist: Louis Pasteur! French biologist, microbiologist and chemist known for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization.

Fun Fact: I can play the piano and harmonica at the same time

UNIV 395

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Maya Martinez

Maya Martinez
Year One Scholar

Major: Biomedical Engineering with a minor in Computer Science

Hails From: La Habra, Calif.

Research Interests: Biomechanics, Virtual Reality, Robotics, Haptics, Simulation -- Specifically looking at how biomechanics may differ in a virtual reality environment compared to a natural "real life" environment.

Personal Interests: Napping, Going to Church, Hanging with Friends, Trying new places to eat, Scuba diving

Favorite Scientist: My favorite scientist is Sr. Mary Kenneth Keller. She was the first American women to earn her doctorate in Computer Science. She helped develop BASIC; a program that allowed non-computer science majors to understand how to use a computer which was mainly ran by custom scripts. It is inspiring to see a woman who is strong in her Faith fearlessly immerse herself into a male-orientated field and prosper.

Fun Fact: I took a pole dancing class. It was fun but I was bad at it.

UNIV 495

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Bo Sortman

Bo Sortman
Fellow

Major: Psychology

Hails From: Cypress, Calif.

Research Interests: Behavioral Neuroscience, Psychopharmacology, neurobiology of addiction and learning.

Personal Interests: Fantasy novels, weight lifting, convoluted movies.

Favorite Scientist:

Eric Kandel, an Austrian-American neuropsychiatrist

Fun Fact: I was a personal trainer for four years and have never liked sports.