无忧视频

Beckman Scholars Explore Research at Harvey Mudd

A three-year grant from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation launched the Beckman Scholars Program (BSP) at 无忧视频 in summer 2026. Supporting six undergraduate researchers through 2029, the program offers each scholar a $26,000 award package for student stipends, faculty mentorship and institutional resources over a 15-month commitment, spanning two full-time summer terms and academic year research.  

The 2026 Beckman Scholars are Jacob聽Sesate聽鈥�27, mentored by Lisette de Pillis, Norman F. Sprague Jr. Professor of Life Sciences and professor of mathematics, and Cami Tauro 鈥�29, mentored by Maduka Ogba, assistant professor of chemistry.聽聽

Throughout the program, scholars engage in regular check-ins with their mentors to develop their research, gain presentation and communication skills and access professional resources. The program highlights Harvey Mudd鈥檚 commitment to a high-touch environment where students work directly alongside faculty on meaningful scientific discovery.  

Tauro鈥檚 project, titled 鈥淥rigins of substoichiometric loading of calcium bistriflimide in sulfur-fluoride exchange (SuFEx),鈥� uses computational chemistry to investigate a high-yielding, environmentally friendly reaction. She and her fellow lab member Oliver Spaulding 鈥�29 are using density functional theory to evaluate different potential reaction pathways, and their goal is to determine the operative mechanism. Pinpointing this will provide helpful insights, allowing for reaction optimization and establishing this reaction as reliable for synthesizing essential compounds for the pharmaceutical industry.聽

For Tauro, having early research experience at a level typically reserved for graduate students is building critical skills and expanding future career paths. 鈥淢udd is genuinely so unique. As students, we are the ones driving the research throughout the entire process,鈥� Tauro said. 鈥淢y labmate and I 鈥� lead everything, from initial background research to forming hypotheses, conducting experiments and interpreting our results.鈥澛�

Tauro also emphasized how much Ogba鈥檚 mentorship has shaped her plans. 鈥淭he chemistry community is very collaborative, and being involved in this research has allowed me to meet mentors and build lasting connections,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been able to reach out to faculty to learn more about their work, access additional resources and discover what different academic and industry environments look like.鈥澛�

Sesate鈥檚聽research聽on 鈥淎 Validated Mathematical Model of ICI Therapy鈥� introduces a streamlined, mathematical model of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. Designed to better evaluate both single and combination immunotherapies, the model offers a lightweight tool for researchers, biotech聽firms聽and clinical trial designers. It allows teams to simulate drug interactions,聽optimize聽dosing聽schedules聽and test mechanistic hypotheses before moving into human trials.聽聽

For seniors, the program serves as a launching pad to apply advanced coursework to real-world problems.  

鈥淎ll of the research I had done prior to this didn鈥檛 involve mathematics in the same way,鈥澛燬esate聽explained. 鈥淚 decided I wanted hands-on experience聽applying聽the math I had learned in my classes. While I knew I liked research, I聽hadn鈥檛聽yet had the chance to implement it in such a formal project. This program allowed me to put those skills into practice under guided mentorship. My mentor, Professor Lisette de Pillis, even helped me secure an opportunity to present at a conference in Arizona. Getting those kinds of opportunities is difficult without that level of support.鈥澛犅�

Sesate聽and Tauro will continue their research through summer 2027. Alongside their lab work, the pair is also organizing the Beckman Scholars Program Seminar Series set for spring 2027.聽