Student Spotlights

Studying Abroad in Paris, France

My name is Kendall Lyons, and I am a junior at the Washington State University Pullman campus dual majoring in bioengineering and data analytics. I am very involved on campus as a member of the WSU Honors College, a Learning Assistant for an engineering course, and a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority. I have also been very involved with on-campus research, conducting an individual multidisciplinary project exploring the connection between ocular blood flow and eye disease.

This past summer I had the opportunity to expand upon this topic in Paris, France, where I had the chance to complete a 6-week internship at the MAP5 lab at Universite Cite Paris. During my internship, I had the ability to greatly expand upon my knowledge of fluid flow dynamics and mathematical modeling under the mentorship of Marcela Szopos and Lorenzo Sala. Employing a model viewing blood flow from the perspective of electrical circuitry, we worked to find a meaningful connection between changes in flow and the risk of ocular disease. I was able to gain valuable experience in coding and documentation of research, as well as an incredible opportunity to gain abroad experience. International travel has always been a bucket-list item for me, and the opportunity to complete an internship abroad allowed me to gain a cultural perspective unlike anything I could have gained from vacationing.

I am incredibly grateful to the WSU Honors College, and specifically Dean Grant Norton, as without their financial support and general willingness to support student endeavors, this project would not have been possible. I would also like to thank my mentor Sergey Lapin, who is the acting Associate Director of the Data Analytics program at the WSU Everett Campus. These two individuals have been instrumental in my ability to complete this internship and have been two of my biggest advocates during my time as an undergraduate. The individual and personalized support I have received from Washington State has been beyond my expectations and has allowed me to greatly expand upon my education in the classroom.

The biggest piece of advice that I can give to other undergraduate students is to get involved as much as you can on campus, with your peers, with your professors, and with your studies. The more time and energy you put into avenues that you are passionate about; the more opportunities are presented to you. Sometimes these opportunities will be scary, and pushing yourself to take the first step is often the hardest part. If you are presented with the opportunity to study internationally, jump on it. It is such an incredible chance to explore the world and provide new perspectives.

Graduating Spring 2023

From the day I learned about math as a kid, I was immediately fascinated with numbers. I would try to double as high as I could in the car and things like that. I carried this passion throughout my time in school, but as soon as I discovered the Data Analytics major at WSU, it sounded like exactly what I wanted to do with my interest in math.

I was taking Dr. Daryl DeFord’s Intro to Data Analytics class, and it was my first experience with coding. I found myself at his office hours a bunch and aside from helping me understand concepts and coding things, I learned that he not only graduated from WSU, but conducted undergraduate research during his time here. I was genuinely interested in what he did and eventually asked him if he would consider mentoring me in undergraduate research and he was excited about that idea.

In terms of what we researched, I didn’t have a preference at first, and that ended up being a great decision because we researched a topic that challenged me in many ways. We researched effects of Malapportionment in Washington State, which is a fancy way of saying we looked at shifts in population between districts that occurs and how those affect the voting cycle and outcomes that are either intentional or not. The reason that this research was so beneficial was that it was a complex issue and therefore required a complex approach. We worked with many types of data, the most notable being geospatial data. I also got experience with new apps and software, learned about advanced mathematical and statistical concepts revolving around Markov Chain Monte Carlo, our main methodology for analysis. I am fortunate to have been able to form a professional relationship with Dr. DeFord. I learned so much from him and was given opportunities to do professional report writing, several presentations at math conferences, and participated in the WSU SURCA poster event.

After graduating this spring, I plan to work in the Data Analytics industry. I would like to do cancer research, more socio-political research, or get a job in an environmental area such as geology.