{"id":2513,"date":"2013-04-09T18:57:38","date_gmt":"2013-04-09T18:57:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/?p=2513"},"modified":"2016-02-16T21:10:57","modified_gmt":"2016-02-16T21:10:57","slug":"from-z-to-a-zimbabwean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/2013\/04\/09\/from-z-to-a-zimbabwean\/","title":{"rendered":"From Z to A: Zimbabwean student discovers his dream at Augsburg"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Kirubel
Kirubel Frew ’14<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During the 2011 Agre Symposium at Augsburg College, Kirubel Frew \u201914 was apprehensive in introducing himself to Peter Agre \u201970\u2014the 2003 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute. But the conversation between the Auggie and one of the College\u2019s most notable alumni proved to be the first discussion of many.<\/p>\n

\u201cI happened to mention that I was from Zimbabwe,\u201d Frew recalled. \u201c[Agre] said, \u2018Zim? Zim? I love Zim. It\u2019s a beautiful country. I believe Zimbabwe will have a scientific boom within the next decade.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

As an international student, Frew selected Augsburg because of its well-respected science programs and its welcoming staff, which he identified during his college application process. Today he recognizes that the warmth of the Augsburg community extends beyond campus to its alumni network.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because what began as a simple chat between Agre and Frew regarding their ties to Zimbabwe matured into a bond through which the Nobel laureate has shaped the career aspirations of one of the College\u2019s standout third-year chemists.<\/p>\n

Frew views Agre\u2019s ability to operate a research lab, speak to audiences around the globe, and inspire young scientists as \u2018a dream job\u2019 and a goal he could not have identified without studying at Augsburg.<\/p>\n

\u201cYears ago, I wouldn\u2019t have believed all this was possible,\u201d Frew said. \u201cMeeting a Nobel laureate in chemistry is awesome, and being mentored by him is even more awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

This mentorship began when Agre invited Frew to conduct research at the Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute during summer 2012 and to attend the Lindau Meeting of Nobel Laureates in Lindau, Germany, an exclusive annual event that brings together several dozen chemistry and physics laureates and an equal number of student guests.<\/p>\n

Frew was a fitting choice for these life-changing opportunities because he developed the critical thinking skills that high-level research requires during the summer after his first year at Augsburg. He participated in a 10-week faculty-led research program through the College\u2019s Office of Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity (URGO).<\/p>\n

\u201cResearch is so unscripted and there are so many turns,\u201d said assistant professor of chemistry Z. Vivian Feng, one of Frew\u2019s faculty advisers.<\/p>\n

Feng presented Frew with the opportunity to conduct a complex proof-of-concept project in which he could demonstrate the feasibility of making a bench-top reactor, a small instrument tied to revolutionary biodiesel experimentation conducted by Augsburg alumnus and businessman Clayton McNeff \u201991, chemistry professor emeritus Arlin Gyberg, and Augsburg\u2019s first Rhodes Scholar Brian Krohn \u201908.<\/p>\n

Feng said she knew the research project would be challenging for Frew given his limited experience in the chemistry lab, but she also believed it suited his background in physics and\u00a0interest in engineering. Frew was determined to independently achieve his goal of modifying the reactor design using his creativity, ingenuity, and knack for problem solving.<\/p>\n

Frew said his experiences on the Augsburg campus and around the globe have proven so inspiring that he now is determined to continue his science education and align his career path to his vocation.<\/p>\n

Dixie Shafer, URGO director, sees this objective as a near-perfect fit. She said that from Frew\u2019s first days of research at Augsburg, he has demonstrated a gift for explaining complex scientific processes in terms that an interdisciplinary audience can understand.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe sees communication as one of his life-long missions,\u201d Shafer explained. \u201cHe may become a serious scientist and work on issues that are related to policy\u2014realizing that too many people in policy don\u2019t know the science and too many scientists have difficulty communicating with the non-science community \u2026 he\u2019d love to be doing what Peter Agre does.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frew cites Agre\u2019s hard work and intellect as key components in the Nobel laureate\u2019s career success, and the young Auggie is on track to take his Augsburg education to the next level with his own tenacity. Students and alumni from Augsburg\u2019s science and mathematics departments commonly go on to conduct research, attend graduate school, and accept employment at some of the nation\u2019s leading research institutions including Cornell University, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, Johns Hopkins University, and Yale University, among others.<\/p>\n

Augsburg is a place for young scientists like Frew to set dreams for the future and lay the educational foundation on which to achieve them.<\/p>\n

\"web<\/a>Watch an audio slideshow in which Frew discusses his URGO research<\/a><\/p>\n

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Student research<\/h2>\n

As spring turns to summer, life on a college campus typically quiets. But for a select group of undergraduate researchers, the summer months are anything but slow. From May to August, Augsburg students perform faculty-led research in the sciences, humanities, and fine arts. Their work is supported by funding from Augsburg\u2019s Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity (URGO) program, the McNair Scholars program, the Sundquist Scholars program, the Northstar STEM Alliance, a NASA Space Physics grant, and the National Science Foundation.<\/p>\n

\"Laura<\/a>
Laura Essenburg ’12 studied stereotypes and the portrayal of race in college admissions marketing materials.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Samantha<\/a>
Samantha Cantrall ’14 studied the hip hop protest music inspired by the Arab Spring movement.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\"web<\/a>Go to Augsburg’s YouTube channel to watch audio slide shows featuring Essenburg, Cantrall, and other summer researchers<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During the 2011 Agre Symposium at Augsburg College, Kirubel Frew \u201914 was apprehensive in introducing himself to Peter Agre \u201970\u2014the 2003 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute. But the conversation between the Auggie and one of the College\u2019s most notable alumni proved to be <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":6335,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[63,55],"class_list":["post-2513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-stories","tag-auggie-voices","tag-spring-2013"],"wps_subtitle":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2513"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2513\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6509,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2513\/revisions\/6509"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}