H.B. woman gets National Science Foundation fellowship

Orange County Register: H.B. woman gets National Science Foundation fellowship
A Huntington Beach resident and recent graduate of Cal State Long Beach is set to join the likes of Google founder, Sergey Brin; the co-author of "Freakonomics," Steven Levitt; and Steven Chu, the U.S. Secretary of Energy.
Delora Gaskins, who recently completed two bachelor's degrees, one in chemistry and the other in mathematics, was awarded the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, the oldest fellowship of its kind. Brin, Levitt and Chu along with 30 other Nobel Prize winners are among a select group of people who have received this prestigious award.

Gaskins will take her fellowship to Brandeis University this fall where she will earn her Ph.D in chemistry while working in the laboratory of Irving Epstein.
"It became clear to me while working in the Epstein laboratory that this is really my research passion," Gaskins said. "There are so many interesting dynamical features to explore and I'm so excited to get started."

According to the professor's profile on the university website, Epstein's research focuses on patterns in time and space, primarily in chemical systems.
Gaskins said she wasn't always so clear on which career path to take.

"Reflecting back on it, there were times when I didn't know what I wanted to do in the big picture. But I kept finding things I liked, often in random situations, and then pursued them," she said.

Gaskins, a Marina High School graduate, said finding a Japanese calligraphy group on campus clinched her decision to attend CSULB.

"There's so much intellectual exchange [at Long Beach] and being part of the scientific community helps you grow as a person and as a scientist. I can't emphasize that enough," she said.

Gaskins will receive a three-year annual stipend of $30,000 along with a $10,500 allowance for tuition and fees and will have access to the TeraGrid supercomputer.