Supapan Seraphin Named 2007 da Vinci Fellow

By Ed Stiles, College of Engineering
Nov. 5, 2007



Supapan Seraphin has been named the 2007 da Vinci Fellow by The University of Arizona College of Engineering.

The fellowship is sponsored by the Engineering College giving society, the da Vinci Circle, and fellows are selected for their distinguished and sustained records in teaching, research and service. Special emphasis is placed on substantial and continued contributions.

A new fellow is named each year, and each fellowship runs for two years. The fellows receive $10,000 over the two-year span of their fellowship.


Outstanding Student Mentor

Seraphin, an expert in electron microscopy and carbon nanoclusters, directs the electron microscopy and x-ray facility in the Materials Science and Engineering Department, known as MSE. She is recognized throughout the college for her dedication to students and as an outstanding student mentor, working with students from middle school to graduate school.

Each summer she leads a group of students and K-12 teachers on a research/summer study program at King Mongkut's University of Technology in Thailand.

She also has offered many outreach classes and activities for students and teachers, including preparing a weekly Thai-food lunch for undergraduate students.

Seraphin makes special efforts to support minority students, training them in electron microscopy and engaging them in her lab’s research efforts.

She particularly targets middle school students, encouraging them to pursue studies in math and science. MSE faculty often find members of the new freshman class have been acquainted with Seraphin since they were in junior high school.

Seraphin says she plans to use her fellowship money to partially support her graduate students’ research and their travel expenses related to presenting research results at academic conferences.

The da Vinci Circle Program
The da Vinci fellowships are only one part of the da Vinci Circle program, which benefits engineering faculty and students while engaging patrons directly in the discovery process.

Da Vinci Circle
members either contribute to the Dean's Fund or support a favorite department or program within the college.

In return, the college is creating programs and events for da Vinci Circle members that reflect the diversity and richness of da Vinci's broad-ranging intellect.

The program includes a combination of ongoing seminars, lectures, excursions, tours and other activities reserved exclusively for members of the da Vinci Circle.

The giving society was named for Leonardo da Vinci because College of Engineering students and faculty share his quest for knowledge and his vision for creating a better future by studying the natural world and applying what they learn to solving problems important to humankind.

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Supapan Seraphin

520-621-6075

seraphin@u.arizona.edu