Everyone Wins with Funded Fellowships
Generously funded fellowships advance research and create impactful Teacher-Scholar outcomes in the Bailey College of Science and Mathematics.
APRIL 2025
Fellowship overviews compiled by Ruzena Brar
The Teacher-Scholar Model is one of Cal Poly’s key strategic objectives and lies at the heart of students’ hands-on experiences and real-world readiness in the Bailey College. A strong faculty/student dynamic can be the difference between an ordinary learning experience and an extraordinary one.
In some cases, graduate students serve as excellent mentors for undergraduate students. The Bailey College is populated with brilliant, experienced faculty who provide invaluable mentorship to eager and motivated students — if given sufficient time and resources.
Friends and alumni of Cal Poly have generously funded time for a growing number of faculty and graduate fellows to engage in exciting research in groundbreaking areas: astronomy, computational sciences, chemistry and biochemistry, and studies of a native species that have recovered from near extinction.
Each of these prestigious and competitive fellowships is designed to offer focused mentorship to a small group of undergraduate students, advance scholarship in their scientific field, and fulfill our vision of being the nation’s premier institution for undergraduate research. Recently, four fellowships have been established, infusing new energy into Learn by Doing, the Teacher-Scholar Model, and undergraduate research in the Bailey College of Science and Mathematics.
Astronomy Faculty Research Fellowship
FUNDED BY: Marrujo Foundation, Daniel M. Marrujo (Electrical Engineering, ’08; M.S., Engineering, ’08) and Rosamaria Marrujo
ESTABLISHED: 2022
The Astronomy Faculty Research Fellowship provides professors in the Physics Department time to focus on student-involved studies related to astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology.
To date, three Astronomy Faculty Research Fellows have been selected for the year-long appointment: Benjamin Shlaer (2024-25), Jodi Christiansen (2023-34), and Elizabeth Jeffery (2022-23). While their areas of interests are varied, each fellow has expressed the same sentiment: by allowing time to focus on research, the fellowship has made it possible to make significant progress in their studies that would not have been possible with a full teaching load. Also, the support created new opportunities to involve students in research, conference presentations and manuscript contributions for publication.
“Success is built on the people doing the work. We’re just an enabler promoting the exciting Learn by Doing experiences for faculty and students that help propel careers.
~Daniel Marrujo
PHOTO: Ben Shlaer (right) discusses cosmology-related formulas and calculations with physics major Aaron Whorl. Photo by Alexis Kovacevic
Read more about research supported by the Astronomy Faculty Research Fellowship:
- ”Why is th Universe So Big?“ (April 2025)
- ”Cal Poly Astronomy Fellowship’s Second Year to Examine High-Energy Particle Jets Near Supermassive Black Holes“ (February 2024)
- ”Astronomy Research Fellowship Will Map One Billion Stars in the Milky Way and Beyond“ (June 2023)
Donna L. Beres and Terrence Dahl Faculty Research Fellowship
FUNDED BY: Donna L. Beres (Mathematics, ’76) and Terrence Dahl
ESTABLISHED: 2025
The Donna Beres and Terrence Dahl Faculty Research Fellowship will support faculty working in computational sciences — a field that spans many disciplines. Chemistry Professor Ashley Ringer McDonald is the inaugural recipient of the newly formed fellowship and will mentor and collaborate with several undergraduates through her research.
The fellowship is supported by Donna Beres, a Cal Poly graduate with a degree in mathematics. Beres and her husband, Terry Dahl, built careers in pharmaceuticals during the early days of data science in Silicon Valley.
Beres and Dahl remain deeply engaged in their professional community, supporting organizations that expand educational opportunities for future generations.
PHOTO: Chemistry Professor Ashley Ringer McDonald. Courtesy photo
Read more about McDonald and the Donna L. Beres and Terrence Dahl Faculty Research Fellowship:
Dr. Kathleen A. Curtis Elephant Seal Research Graduate Fellowship
FUNDED BY: Dr. Kathleen A. Curtis
ESTABLISHED: 2022
The Dr. Kathleen A. Curtis Elephant Seal Research Graduate Fellowship supports the Vertebrate Integrative Physiology (VIP) Lab’s research program centered around the local northern elephant seal population at Piedras Blancas rookery in San Simeon, California. The fellowship supports graduate students, accelerating research and providing enhanced mentorship for undergraduate students involved in the program.
This fellowship enables the VIP Lab to recruit highly qualified graduate students to take part in managing Team Ellie, a student-run group studying the ecology and behavior of elephant seals to lay the foundations for a greater understanding of our local population.
PHOTO: From left, student researchers Lauren Sprague, Isa Mattioli, Mary Keegan, Helen Hanigan and Sophia Hosmer-Hughes at Piedras Blancas Rookery to monitor northern elephant seals. Courtesy photo
Read more about Team Ellie and research supported by the Dr. Kathleen A. Curtis Elephant Seal Research Graduate Fellowship:
- ”Students Study a Treasured Local Species” (April 2024)
- Team Ellie: Studying the Elephant Seals of the Central Coast
Mark A. Kent Endowed Faculty Fellowship
FUNDED BY: Mark A. Kent (Chemistry, ’76)
PLANNED ESTATE GIFT: 2024
The Mark A. Kent Endowed Faculty Fellowship will benefit faculty in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, providing faculty with time to engage in undergraduate research with students.
After 24 years in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, Kent followed in the footsteps of his parents and many other family members to pursue a second career in teaching. Kent always felt he benefited greatly from his degree and aspired to give back to Cal Poly. When he attended his first American Chemical Society meeting decades ago, Kent became aware of the concept of named faculty positions and decided that establishing an endowed faculty position would be his goal for giving back. Kent understands that the gateway to Learn by Doing is faculty — when faculty are supported, more students are supported, and the entire learning community is enriched.
