~ JENNY LORRAINE NIELSEN'S (VERY EXCITING, PLEASANT TO READ) PROFESSIONAL INFO ~

NEW: 2011 Chambliss Medal Recipient, 217th Meeting of AAS.

 

Plus: My Boss (and my back) featured on Fox News, Kansas City:

 

~ Curriculum Vitae ~

2010 Bachelor of Science in Physics, UMKC, summa cum laude, with minor in mathematics and statistics.

The Mandatory Research Experience:

• Research Assistant for Dr. Daniel McIntosh in the Galaxy Evolution Group (GEG) at UMKC, 2008-present
  • Winner of 2011 Chambliss Astronomy Student Achievement Award - 217th meeting AAS in Seattle, Washington for:
    • January 2011 AAS (American Astronomical Society) Conference. Seattle, Washington. Poster. "Age and Metallicity of Merging Galaxies and Merger Remnants in the SDSS". J.L. Nielsen, D.H. McIntosh, et al. Paper in progress (first name authorship)
  • January 2011 AAS (American Astronomical Society) Conference. Seattle, Washington. Poster. "The Role of Active Galactic Nuclei in the Major Merging Process." A.L. Cooper, D.H. McIntosh, et al. Paper in progress. (Name on poster / paper.)
  • October 2010 UMKC Colloquium. Presentation. "Ages and Metallicities of Galaxy Mergers and Remnants in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey."
  • 2010-2011 CANDELS (Cosmic Assembly Near-Infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey) - data checking, etc. as part of morphology group. http://candels.ucolick.org/team_info/Team_Members.html
  • June 2009 trip to Kitt Peak, Arizona for observation using WIYN telescope on plausible blue ellipticals as part of Galaxy Evolution Group at UMKC.
  • March 2009 MARAC (Mid-American Regional Astrophysics Conference). Presented research, "Towards a Catalogue of Galaxy Mergers in the Local Universe"
  • CANDELS data processing using SourceExtractor  / SDSS data processing in IRAF/Perl
  • Catalog builder for major merger catalog (morphology and classification)
  • Fall 2010 Teaching Assistant / Tutor for Astrophysics 155 with Daniel McIntosh
  • Teaching Assistant / Tutor for Physics 110/120 and/or 240/250 Labs, 2007-2010
• Research Assistant for Dr. Reeta Vyas working on exotic beam modes / quantum optics, Summer 2008
  • University of Arkansas Conference in Undergraduate Research, 2008. "Higher Order Gaussian Beam Modes" Talk/Presentation
• Independent Biophysics Research with Dr. Michael Ferrari, UMKC, 2006-2007
  • 1st Place! SEARCH Research Competition, Biology, UMKC April 13, 2007
  • 2008 SEARCH Conference, UMKC. Presentation. "On the Ability of an Electric Current to Transfer Crystallization Patterns."
• Worked in ESEM with Dr. Da-Ming Zhu, UMKC 2007
• Independent reading / math fiddling in special relativity, 2006, w/direction from Dr. Keith Ashman

Programming Proficiency: Perl, Mathematica, IRAF, some Fortran, Java, Visual Basic, and SCPI. Can work in Unix.
Also on a more artsy note, Photoshop, HTML, Corel Painter XI.

~ PUBLICATIONS ~

 Research Related:

***Multiple Papers with Galaxy Evolution Group, UMKC, In Progress / Pending***

Microcosmic Forests: An Investigation of Protein Crystallization using ESEM, Contact AFM and Optical Microscopy Lucerna, Honors Undergraduate Journal of University of Missouri-Kansas City
The Heart is a Dustboard: Abu'l Wafa Al-Buzjani, Dissection, Construction, and the Dialogue Between Art and Mathematics in Medeival Islamic Culture -  LOCI: Convergence + The Sosland Journal + HomSigmaa Web

Winner, 2010 HomSigmaa National History of Mathematics Papers Competition of the Mathematics Association of America

Winner, 2010 Isaac W. Davis Essay Competition - Advanced Category

More Liberal Artsy Stuff:
Recording the Soul's Journey: Life, Literacy and the Unfolding Self First Place, 2004 Ilus W. Davis Essay Competition Sosland Journal, University of Missouri-Kansas City 2004  
Battle of the Sundance: The Navajo-Hopi Land Dispute Lucerna, Honors Undergraduate Journal of University of Missouri-Kansas City
Featured in News: http://www.unews.com/2.4804/lucerna-lights-the-way-1.660222#2


Honors, Awards, etc

• Graduated with Departmental and Latin Honors (Summa Cum Laude)
• 2011 Winner of Chambliss Student Astronomy Achievement Award - 217th meeting AAS in Seattle, Washington
• 2010-2011 Winner of Ilus W. Davis Essay Competition, Advanced Category, for "The Heart is a Dustboard"
• 2010 Winner HomSigmaa National History of Mathematics Papers Competition of the Mathematics Association of America
• 2009-2010 Don and Lucille Armacost Scholarship
• 2009 KF Cheng Scholarship in Physics
• 2009 Curator's Scholarship Faculty Choice Award
• 2008 James M. Philips Undergraduate Award in Physics
• 2008 REU Fellowship, University of Arkansas
• 2007 KL Cheng Undergraduate Award in Physics
• 2007 UMKC SEARCH
  • "Electrical Effects on Protein Crystallization"  - 1st Place, Biology
• 2006 Patricia Schatzkin Award for Most Outstanding Female Undergrad
• 2006 Women's Club Going for Excellence Award
• 2004 - 1st Place Ilus W. Davis Essay Competition
• 2004 Undergraduate Award for Outstanding Achievement in Spanish

I also found some time to be secretary, and then president, of the UMKC Society of Physics Students between 2006-2010,

as well as secretary for the Culinary Arts Student Association (CASA).

2010 Third Place - Thich Nhat Hanh's SAVOR Zen Vegetarian Recipe Competition