DALLAS — Misericordia University recently recognized Michelle K. Ash, of Sweet Valley, for her academic accomplishments in physics by presenting her with the prestigious Professor Kenneth J. Rockensies Award at the annual Awards Ceremony in Lemmond Theater in Walsh Hall. The award is presented to mathematical or natural sciences graduates in recognition of outstanding achievement.
Ash graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in biology at Misericordia’s 93rd annual spring commencement ceremony in May. She will continue her education in graduate school at Rush University in Chicago, Illinois.
She was selected to spend the summer of 2018 conducting biophysics research in Bordeaux, France as an Iacocca International Scholar. Her fellowship was funded by the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program. In France, Ash worked alongside Dr. Jean-Pierre Delville in the LOMA Laboratory (a French acronym standing for Laboratoire Ondes et Matière d’Aquitaine or Laboratory of Waves and Matter of Aquitaine) at the University of Bordeaux using lasers to study the microrheology of natural gels.
The Lake-Lehman High School graduate also participated in the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship at Misericordia University, working with Jeffrey Stephens, Ph.D., assistant professor of physics, to research ways to stop infections caused by Candida albicans, the scientific name for a common yeast strain and one of the leading causes of death by blood-borne yeast infections.
