Wayne State graduate student team awarded first place

Wayne State undergraduate teams awarded second and third place

DETROIT – The Science Coalition (TSC) announced the winners of its fifth-annual Fund It Forward Student Video Challenge. Graduate and undergraduate students currently enrolled at TSC member institutions were asked to create a video explaining their personal connection to fundamental research and why Congress should continue to invest in the partnership between federal research agencies and their university counterparts.  

Mohamed Chakkour and Chisom Joshua Onu, graduate students in Dr. Miriam Greenberg’s lab in the Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Wayne State University, were awarded first place in the graduate category. Jacob Klein, a senior in the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the College of Engineering, and Jay Elias, a junior in the Department of Psychology in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, were awarded second and third place respectively in the undergraduate category.

The winning videos can be viewed at https://www.sciencecoalition.org/student-video-challenge-2023/.

“This year’s Fund It Forward Student Video Challenge attracted a record number of submissions – a clear indication that the next generation of innovative talent stands firmly behind federal investment in fundamental research and wants Congress to keep pace,” said TSC President Laura Kolton. “These videos should serve as motivation for lawmakers to fight for robust, predictable, and timely appropriations for U.S. research agencies, whose partnership with research institutions nationwide is a wellspring for the future STEM workforce. Each submission is proof positive that the U.S. is brimming with scientific potential; now, legislators must answer their call. Thank you and congratulations to all the students who entered for adding your voice to this important conversation.” 

 “I am happy to congratulate our Wayne State University teams on participating and placing well in the 2023 Fund It Forward Student Video Challenge organized by The Science Coalition,” said Timothy Stemmler, Ph.D., interim vice president for research at Wayne State University. “Their impressive videos give a snippet of the amazing and important research that is happening here on our campus in the great city of Detroit that impact our community and beyond. Their projects showcase the immense opportunities we provide our students to have hands-on learning through the research we do, much of which would not happen without important federal investment in science. I am proud of our Warrior teams who are playing a critical role in improving the lives of others now and in the future.” 

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About Wayne State University

Wayne State University is one of the nation’s pre-eminent public research universities in an urban setting. Through its multidisciplinary approach to research and education, and its ongoing collaboration with government, industry and other institutions, the university seeks to enhance economic growth and improve the quality of life in the city of Detroit, state of Michigan and throughout the world. For more information about research at Wayne State University, visit research.wayne.edu.

About the Science Coalition 

Established in 1994, The Science Coalition is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization of more than 50 of the nation’s leading public and private research universities. It is dedicated to sustaining the federal government’s investment in basic scientific research as a means to stimulate the economy, spur innovation, and drive America’s global competitiveness.