Jeffy Jimenez, a PhD candidate in the Department of Chemical Engineering, is a recipient of a Successful Latina/o Student Award for 2007. From USF’s entire graduate and undergraduate student population, only 10 of these awards are given annually. The awards will be presented during the inaugural event of the USF Hispanic Heritage Celebration on October 4, 2007, and are intended to celebrate the achievements of these students and to convey the message to other Latina/o students that college success is attainable. Recipients are selected by the USF Latinos Association Hispanic Heritage Committee based upon their success in scholarship, professionalism and/or service.

As a member of Dr. Norma Alcantar’s research group, Jeffy was awarded an Outstanding Thesis award by the USF Graduate School in 2005. Her dissertation research is focused upon the area of materials and surface science applied to biological polymers aggregation and dissolution. She is a participant in the NSF IGERT SKINS training grant and is also an Alfred P. Sloan Minority PhD fellow.

In further recognition of her work at USF, Jeffy was selected from a nationwide pool of applicants to participate in the first annual “Building Engineering and Science Talent” (BEST) Symposium hosted by The Dow Chemical Company in Midland, Michigan, on September 25-26 2007. This two-day career symposium introduced underrepresented doctoral candidates and postdoctoral researchers to career opportunities in industrial research. She gave a short technical presentation “Effects of Antibodies on Amyloid Beta Peptide Aggregates: Intermolecular Interactions Implications” and participated in both team-building activities and social events during the program.

Finally, Jeffy was selected to receive a 2007-2008 scholarship by the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE). Nominees were selected based upon academic merit, community service, leadership, and commitment to the highest ideals espoused by the SPHE national organization. In addition to her research and academic accomplishments, Jeffy has participated in numerous College of Engineering outreach activities while serving as a graduate student mentor for participants in the College’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program within the Alcantar research group.