ARCS Foundation, Metro Washington Chapter (MWC) October 2023 Newsletter |
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Oct 26: Scholar Awards Reception (SAR), 6:30-9 pm
Nov 14: Scholar and alum networking event before the Neil deGrasse Tyson lecture
Dec 7: Holiday Party
Feb 3: Winter Member Meeting
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With lots of enthusiasm and energy for our 55th Anniversary celebration, we launched the 2023-24 ARCS-MWC year at our Fall Membership Meeting and Social. Many thanks to Amy Mykityshyn for hosting in her lovely home. The meeting was well attended, and members heard our chapter's and each council's exciting goals for our 55th Anniversary year.
The event's highlight was the announcement of Amy Mykityshyn as our 2023-24 ARCS Light awardee. Congratulations, Amy and thank you for all your years of contributions to ARCS-MWC.
Members who attended the meeting received their updated Membership Directory Bluebooks. If you were unable to attend, a Bluebook will be mailed to your home. Many thanks to Beth Czaban for creating the directory.
Last month’s newsletter featured Gigi Paruv, one of this year’s Endowment Scholars, giving her perspective on scientific developments in her field of study over the past 55 years and what the ARCS award means to her. This month highlights the ARCS experience from long-serving member Lana Yarymovych, who has served MWC for 54 years and the LA chapter for 46 years.
The 55th Anniversary excitement continues at our Scholar Awards Reception (SAR) on Oct 26 at the National Academy of Sciences where we meet our sixteen 2023-24 scholars and our partner university leaders. ARCS-MWC is thrilled to welcome our 2023 SAR keynote speakers: Dr. Margaret M. McCarthy, Chair, Department of Pharmacology, at the University of Maryland (UM) School of Medicine and Director of the UM-Medicine Institute of Neuroscience Discovery, and Dr. Gregory F. Ball, Vice President for Research at the UM College Park and the UM Baltimore. They will discuss scientific achievements amidst the progression of diversity, equity, and inclusion in their fields over the past 55 years.
We encourage you to bring a friend, colleague or potential member to our SAR event. One of our 55th Anniversary goals is to increase chapter membership, and our SAR event highlights our chapter scholars, University partners and our engagement in the scientific community.
Following our SAR, mark your calendar for these events:
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Nov 14 ARCS scholar and alum networking event before the Neil deGrasse Tyson lecture;
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Dec 7 Holiday Party at the home of Holly and Jim Coyne;
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Feb 3 Winter Member Meeting that will include distinguished scientific panels and speakers.
We look forward to seeing you and your guest at the SAR event on Oct 26.
~Julie Hohl and Patty Sparrell, ARCS-MWC co-presidents
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Have you registered for the 2023 Scholar Awards Reception being held on Thurs, Oct 26 from 6:30-9 pm at the National Academy of Sciences Building?
You and your guests won't want to miss this celebration of the 2023-24 scholar class. Our featured speakers are Dr. Margaret M. McCarthy, Chair, Department of Pharmacology, at the University of Maryland (UM) School of Medicine and Director of the UM-Medicine Institute of Neuroscience Discovery and Dr. Gregory F. Ball, Vice President for Research at the UM College Park and the UM Baltimore.
Reception and scholar posters begin at 6:30 pm. Speaker and awards presentation begin at 7:30 pm.
Tickets are $100. Click here for info and to register by Oct 17. Questions? Contact Miriam Swydan Erickson 703-201-1954 or Anne Wingo 703-568-4708.
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Let's extend our warmest welcome to ARCS-MWC's newest member, Becky Corcoran.
Becky graduated from George Mason University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1982, a degree that equipped her to embark on a rewarding 19-year career as a professional nurse in the operating room. During this period, she found herself immersed in the dynamic world of surgery, actively assisting in a variety of procedures, from ophthalmology and orthopedics to ENT, Plastic, Urology, and GYN surgeries at the Virginia Hospital Center.
She currently works as a well immunization nurse contracted with INOVA Fairfax Hospital at the State Department in Washington, DC, which is a fast-paced environment administering all vaccines to State Dept. employees traveling internationally, along with providing medical support for emergencies, special events, and sick employees. It has been a great learning experience.
Her commitment to education and community engagement has also been reflected in her roles beyond the operating room. For a decade, she served as a dedicated board member of the Langley Orchestra Society, demonstrating leadership in various capacities, including president, concert program coordinator and fundraiser as well as working on several committees such as silent auction, trip planning, photography, fundraising and hospitality.
Volunteering has been a cornerstone of her life, and it has been particularly rewarding to contribute to her three sons’ academic journeys. As co-captain of their robotic teams from elementary to middle school, she had the privilege of witnessing their growth and success, which culminated in the team’s triumphant three-year state champions. Two of her sons graduated with engineering degrees in college.
She finds solace and inspiration in nature as a member of the Garden Club of Fairfax. She passionately engages in gardening and floral arranging and enjoys working on the exhibits committee. Looking ahead, she is planning the September meeting and eagerly anticipating volunteering during the Historical Garden Week at Ballantrae Farm in McLean.
A resident of the Washington, DC area for over six decades, her roots are firmly planted in this vibrant community. Her late husband, Dr. Ted Corcoran DMD, MD, was a respected oral surgeon who left an indelible mark on our community. Together, they raised three wonderful sons and have called McLean their home for over 25 years.
Joining the ARCS Foundation is a meaningful continuation of her lifelong dedication to the pursuit of excellence in science, engineering, mathematics, technology, and medical research.
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fall member meeting recap |
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As you read in the co-president's message above, our Fall Membership Meeting and Social kicked off MWC's 55th Anniversary and announced our new ARCS Light. Click here to view the gallery of event pictures.
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Congratulations to our new ARCS light, Amy Mykityshyn.
The ARCS Light tradition was initiated in 1972 by the national ARCS Foundation to recognize an individual who has provided exceptional service and leadership in support of her respective Chapter. Each Chapter selects an annual ARCS Light recipient from its active membership. In addition to chapter recognition, ARCS National highlights the ARCS Lights awardees from all chapters at the All Members’ Conference which this year will be held in Chicago in the spring.
This year's ARCS Light has been a member since 2013 and was sponsored by Bev Harrington. She has been very generous in her support of the chapter both behind the scenes as well as filling multiple roles as a Board member, including VP Communications, VP Administration, and Member at Large. She was instrumental last year in managing the interface with the Eagle Honoree, Jason Providakes, CEO of Mitre Corporation.
It's impressive that our honoree finds time to volunteer with ARCS while working as a Lead Aviation Systems Engineer at Mitre Corporation and as a wife and mother of two daughters. In addition to ARCS activities, both she and her husband are supportive of multiple philanthropies, including the Blue Angels Foundation.
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As part of our 55th anniversary celebration, Elli Nesbitt will be interviewing some of our longest-serving members. Here's the first installment.
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Lana Yarymovych joined ARCS-MWC in 1969 and the ARCS Los Angeles Chapter in 1977. She joined ARCS-MWC because she knew Barbara Arnold, then MWC president and wife of William Bruce Arnold (son of General Henry “Hap” Arnold) and daughter of Donald W. Douglas, founder of the Douglas Aircraft Company. Lana was interested in raising funds for science and engineering scholars, particularly because her husband has a PhD in aeronautical engineering.
Several things about being an ARCS-MWC and ARCS Los Angeles member brought Lana great satisfaction:
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She became friends with ARCS members, such as Peggy Adams, because their husbands were in science and engineering disciplines, and she really enjoyed working on projects with Peggy and other ARCS members.
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She sponsored several new members, including Marlene Bekey, co-sponsored with Karen Meyers and Neil Armstrong’s wife.
- “The more funds ARCS-MWC members raised for scholars, the better [Lana and her fellow ARCS members] felt.”
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She learned a lot of new information that helped her keep up with her husband’s interest in science and technology.
Lana thinks it was easier to get good speakers in science in the earlier years because some ARCS-MWC members worked at NASA and knew many people in NASA. For example, because her husband worked with them, Lana knew Dr. Robert C. Seamans, Jr., and Dr. George E. Mueller. Dr. Seamans joined NASA in 1960 as Associate Administrator and was Deputy Administrator during 1965-68; he also served as Acting Administrator. Dr. Mueller oversaw NASA’s human spaceflight programs during 1963-69, creating and leading NASA’s Office of Manned Space Flight.
Lana's proudest ARCS achievements have been the scholars funded by ARCS, many of whom are now leaders excelling in their fields. When she joined ARCS, engineering scholars were mostly men because there were very few women engineering students. Lana and her husband asked to sponsor women scholars when possible and generally sponsored scholars from the University of Maryland because they lived in Maryland. The scholars Lana and her husband sponsored have kept in contact.
When asked for thoughts to share with current members, Lana opined that science was much more valued when she joined ARCS than it is now, and it should be much more appreciated. Lana also found it very interesting that our SAR keynote speakers are a couple, Dr. Margaret McCarthy and Dr. Gregory Ball from the University of Maryland, discussing the evolution of science and engineering in their fields, amidst changes in diversity, equity, and inclusion, for the past 55 years.
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Ellen Jacobs - Mars Foundation Scholar
1st Year Scholar, PhD Candidate, Biology
Georgetown University
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Research: Bottlenose dolphins foraging with sponge tools in Shark Bay, Western Australia represent the best documented case of tool use in a wild cetacean, but precise mechanisms of the technique are not known. Ellen's research investigates whether dolphins modify echolocation use while sponging compared to similar foraging methods without sponge tools by combining behavioral, acoustic, and sound propagation modeling techniques.
How will your research benefit society? This study will be the first to test the “echolocation hypothesis” of sponge foraging in the Shark Bay bottlenose dolphins. Although the incidence of sponging has been well-documented for nearly 40 years of study in Shark Bay, the functional mechanics of the technique remain elusive until the role of echolocation in sponging is known. Dolphins possess one of the most precise and highly specialized echolocation systems in the animal kingdom, so any foraging technique that may specifically minimize its use raises interesting questions about the role of niche partitioning in this densely populated area. Tool-use is often an extension of ability, rarely inhibition of one. Based on genetics and demographic modeling by Kopps & Sherwin (2012), sponging is estimated to have evolved around 250 years ago. Clarifying how echolocation is used in sponging contributes to our understanding of selection pressures favoring the evolution of tool use in marine and terrestrial systems. Additionally, passive listening to a mother’s echolocation may be an important way that a calf can monitor their mother’s location and foraging activities when the mother is out of sight. Temporary mother-calf separations are frequent from a young age. If there is less echolocation to listen for, that may make it more difficult for a calf to track the mother’s movements and learn foraging tactics, which could increase the risk of losing track of the mother, or result in fewer temporary separations, potentially decreasing maternal foraging success and impacting calf skill development. Understanding the use of echolocation could shed light on the tradeoffs between mother-calf communication, foraging, maternal care and calf development and learning.
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Communications: When did you last visit the MWC website? You can find a ton of useful info, including
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our calendar of events here,
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event highlights here,
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scholar news here, and
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chapter news here.
Be sure to check it out.
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Membership: We convened on Tues, Sep 26 for our first meeting of the 2023-2024 year. We were fortunate to be able to meet in person in Lubna Zahir's lovely home and to accommodate virtual attendance of additional council members.
To get to know each other better, we socialized with delightful snacks and beverages before the business portion of our meeting. Our business meeting addressed membership renewals, upcoming membership coffee houses, member recruitment, and the clarification of membership categories. We will convene a working group to more thoroughly address the membership categories and then make a recommendation to the full board about how the bylaws should be updated.
Our newest ARCS-MWC member, Becky Corcoran, was able to join in person, and we are grateful to her for jumping on our council. Thank you to all council members who were able to participate!
Save the date: ARCS-MWC member Coffee House at Lubna's home on Oct 17 from 5:00-7:30 pm
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P.O. Box 60868
10221 River Road
Potomac, MD 20859-0868
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