Two More EE Students Awarded Gates Scholarships

Congratulations to Gen Vigil and Ryan Charrier who have received Mary Gates Scholarships for 2010-2011! EE undergraduate student Elliot Saba also received the scholarship award as well.

Vigil was awarded the Mary Gates Research Scholarship, and her faculty advisor is Professor Karl Böhringer. She has helped design, build and test a low-cost, point-of-care microfluidic device for the extraction of nucleic acids from viscous samples, such as sputum. The device is called "Microfluidic Origami" because the paper substrates from which the device is constructed and folded together, enabling different channels to contact each other for sample processing steps. The device is aimed toward specific detection of Tuberculosis and other infectious diseases that plague the developing world.

Charrier was awarded the Mary Gates Leadership Scholarship, and his faculty advisor is Professor Ashley Emery from Mechanical Engineering. He is the racing director for the UW's Formula SAE race car team. Each year, this team of nearly 50 students designs, builds and races a new car. In his current position, Charrier in charge of everything relating to vehicle testing and racing. Charrier works with the entire team to make sure technical design decisions are based off of sound testing data, but also works for the drivers as well. In addition, Charier also works throughout the year to maintain the old cars and train drivers in them.

More Information

About the Mary Gates Scholarship Program
Karl Böhringer's Faculty Page
MEMS Laboratory
UWashington Formula Motorsports Webpage