PhD student Henrietta (Etta) Tsosie (advisor: Antonios Zavaliangos) has been selected to participate in the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) Lighting the Pathway to Faculty Careers for Natives in STEM program.
As a participant in the program, Etta will receive an annual stipend of $2,250.00 for two years and will be matched with a Native American faculty mentor. She will also have the opportunity to attend an AISES conference and will be connected to skill-building resources and funding opportunities.
In the Powder Materials Group, Etta is working on understanding the origin and physical mechanisms that result in the adherence of powders onto compaction tools. This problem, also known as “sticking,” is one of the most difficult to deal with in pharmaceutical manufacturing.
The funding for this AISES initiative comes from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the goal of which is to increase the number of Native Americans in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) faculty positions in academic institutions across the country.