College of Science, Engineering and Technology

GCU marketing and advertising major Tayler Alonzo-Taggart grew up in Fairbanks, Alaska, but found herself touting the wonders of Phoenix as an intern at the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, where she is in charge of the organization’s blog, “What Makes Greater Phoenix So Great,” among other duties. Fellow senior James Fritz also interned at GPEC this summer and had a lot of free reign on his projects. The computer science major with an emphasis in big data developed an alert app for the GPEC team and put together market sentiment analyses. “It’s been a really nice environment to work in,” he said.

Sun, sand and surf are all good, but Paige Petrine is challenging herself this summer in a different way. The Paradise Valley High School senior was furiously jotting down observations from her busy morning in the Biomedical Device Design and Protyping Lab, where GCU Biomedical Professor Dr. Jeff La Belle innovates, designs and protypes medical technologies. She is one of more than a dozen high school students who are part of the inaugural High School STEM Internship Program, developed by K12 Educational Development. They spend eight hours most days researching in various fields, from anatomy to biomedical engineering, software development and health and nutrition. They also sit in on professional development sessions organized by the Honors College. Said Petrine, “The lab is my happy place.”

When Ellen Mari heard from her students that they were interested in computers, she was on it. She took a Linux course at a community college and now she’s one of 23 teachers from 17 high schools who are sharpening their cybersecurity skills at GCU’s GenCyber Summer Camp. Dr. Brandy Harris, Assistant Dean in the College of Technology, said a there’s a dire need for cybersecurity professionals in the industry. One of the ways to increase those numbers is to educate more teachers who might inspire their students to enter the field. “We want to get more students trained in cybersecurity and start filling these gaps,” she said.

Jazmine Cordon and her high school team engineered a plant-watering robot to help educate middle schoolers who have seen their share of food insecurity. Fiona Tran’s middle school team wanted to help wheelchair users by designing a wheelchair light to make it safer to navigate pathways at night. The two teams, whose projects’ roots are at Sevilla Elementary School West, just a half-mile from GCU, presented their projects at the virtual MESA USA National Engineering Design Competition on Monday. It was the first time students from the school competed at nationals, something that might not have happened, said Sevilla West STEM educator Mia DeLaRosa, if not for help from GCU’s K12 STEM Outreach team.

Wildland firefighters often traverse rigorous terrain, hike long distances, breathe in smoke, and don’t eat or sleep well, among other stresses. They also are at risk of heart attacks. One study found that the risk for acute myocardial infarction during active fire suppression increased anywhere from 12 to 136 fold. It’s why a group of researchers, including GCU’s Dr. Zach Zeigler and students-now-alumni Payton Greer and Laura Verduzco, conducted a study to look at the effects of wildland firefighting on cardiovascular health.

Tim Kelley of the Colangelo College of Business has worked hard to infuse entrepreneurship into every college at GCU, not just CCOB, and his latest hire is yet another example of that effort. Abenezer Gebrehiwot, an IT/cybersecurity major, is the new Executive Manager of Kelley’s Canyon Angels investment group. Gebrehiwot was instrumental in organizing and executing a recent Canyon Angels event.

When Madison Strong heard that Dr. Jeff La Belle was joining the College of Science, Engineering and Technology, she knew what a dedicated researcher he was and wanted to be part of his research team. So she introduced herself and was the first GCU student to join La Belle Lab. She has since been listed as the first author of a research paper and was accepted recently to the biomedical engineering Ph.D. program at Northwestern University.

Dante DeSimone was never a stranger to taking on a challenge, and that’s what made him perfect for his new role as a project manager for Intel. After graduating in April with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, DeSimone has transitioned from an intern at the company to a full-time employee who strives to make a difference in the field. But he also has strived to take part in a lot of different activities and learn many new skills.

It was a coup for the College of Science, Engineering and Technology, whose students swept the top spots in the the oral presentations category of the recent meeting of the Arizona and Southern Nevada branch of the American Society for Microbiology. At the virtual event, hosted by Touro University in Henderson, Nevada, GCU took first and second place in oral presentations, two others talks were named runners-up, and student Karson Rush-Briones was recognized with the W.W. Norton Award in the category of Undergraduate Poster Presentations.

The virtual Commencement ceremony for online students Saturday was actually eight prerecorded ceremonies — one for each college, with a promise of more ceremonies this fall for graduates who would like the in-person experience. But the acknowledgment of their accomplishments amid the pandemic couldn’t wait. “What you have accomplished is remarkable, and we are celebrating it today,” GCU President Brian Mueller said.