Hannah Highlander, mathematics, has been awarded the 11th Annual Sigma Xi Outstanding Researcher Award, given annually by the Columbia-Willamette Chapter of Sigma Xi, the international scientific research honorary society. She will be honored at a ceremony on May 28. College of Arts and Science dean and mathematics faculty member Herbert Medina points out that this is the second consecutive year that a UP mathematics faculty member has won the award (with Aaron Wootton winning kin 2018).
Highlander’s current scholarship lies in the area of mathematical biology. She has 22 peer reviewed scholarly articles spanning a career of 12 years, a rate which rivals those of some of the most productive mathematicians in the United States– while at the same time teaching three classes per semester. Five of these publications include undergraduate authors – almost one quarter of her published articles include collaboration with undergraduates.
Highlander’s work is tied to topics of deep importance to the UP community, including work on mathematical modeling of the Green Dot Bystander Intervention data to prevent sexual assault. Her summer 2019 undergraduate research project, Mathematical Modeling of Suicide Risk and Assessment of Preventative Measures could add considerably to the literature on risk factors of suicide among a vulnerable population. She is also a key contributor to the new Applied Mathematics program (and B.S. in Applied Mathematics major) at UP.
Please join the mathematics department in offering congratulations to Dr. Highlander. For more information contact Stephanie Salomone, mathematics, at salomone@up.edu.
The University’s annual Reading Fair will take place on Sunday, February 24, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., in the Chiles Center. “Rumble in the Jungle” will be a reading fair and family STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) day hosted by Kappa Delta Pi and the UP STEM Education and Outreach Center. The fair is freeand open to all children from preschool through 8th grade.
The Oregon Academy of Science has selected Stephanie Salomone, mathematics, as a winner of the OAS 2019 Outstanding Educator: Higher Education award.
The REFLECT Institute, funded by the National Science Foundation’s Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Education and Human Resources grant, met on the UP campus from May 14-17 for four days of deep thinking about defining and moving towards a vision for STEM teaching excellence at the University of Portland. Attendees included mentors Eric Anctil, Heather Dillon, Carolyn James, Valerie Peterson, Tara Prestholdt, and Stephanie Salomone; and fellows Laurie Dizney, Eli Goldwyn, Ryan Kenton, Elliot Mylott, Cara Poor, Niki Schulz, Kristin Sweeney, Jen Symons, Buck Taylor, Tammy VanDeGrift, and Christine Weilhoefer.
Stephanie Salomone, mathematics, has successfully completed a grant proposal which will allow the University to take part in a $3.3 million grant through the Western Regional Noyce Alliance. Salomone will serve as principal investigator on a subcontract of $400,000 to plan and run a Western Regional Noyce Conference in Portland in February 2020. This will be different than UP’s current Noyce grant, also led by Salomone. The conference will be a professional development opportunity for pre-service and in-service K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers in high-needs schools who have participated in Noyce programs in the Western part of the United States. It will also engage teacher educators from higher education in dialog about how to better prepare and retain teachers in high-needs schools.
The following science, technology, engineering, and mathematics faculty members have been selected as STEM Innovation Fellows and will participate in the first REFLECT institute in May, funded by a National Science Foundation Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) grant, according to Stephanie Salomone, mathematics. The REFLECT project stands for “Redesigning Education for Learning through Evidence and Collaborative Teaching,” and will develop and facilitate training workshops to expose faculty to highly effective evidence-based resources and pedagogies at UP.
The University of Portland’s STEM Education and Outreach Center is sponsoring a new speaker series to encourage students to think outside the box about career possibilities, according to Tisha Morrell, education. The speaker for the premiere session will be Tommy Pham ’09, ’11, lead patent strategist at NIKE. He will speak on his experience in the worlds of entrepreneurship and science, and his work in global innovation. His talk will take place on Thursday, April 12, 7 to 8 p.m., in Franz Hall room 120. Refreshments will be served. For ADA accommodation requests or questions, please contact 
UP’s Real Analysis Students present “This I Believe: A Conversation about Personal Axioms,” on Tuesday, November 15, at 7:15 p.m., in Franz Hall 120. Students of Stephanie Salomone and Hannah Callender, mathematics, will present projects inspired by the axiom “This I Believe.” The event is free and open to all, and is a collaboration with the Garaventa Center and the Dundon-Berchtold Moral Development and Applied Ethics Initiative. For ADA accommodations or more information: 