Growing up, Emily Bayuk '21 was fascinated with the way electricity whizzes around a circuit at lightning speed. She remembers getting a talking doll as a present and being much more interested in how its circuitry played a recording when she pushed a button than in anything the doll had to say. Bayuk wanted to learn more about circuitry and exactly how it worked, but she didn't find many books in her hometown library or bookstores that spoke to her particular interest beyond dry texts - until, that is, she decided to create her own. Over many months in her senior year of high school, Bayuk broke down the lessons she was learning in physics class to a level that middle-grade readers could understand. She then lovingly illustrated each page of the work she titled The Fundamentals of Circuits Made Easy. An early lesson on circuits sparked Emily Bayuk's curiosity about science and engineering. Today, she's creating more complex electronics as a Bucknell electrical engineering major. Emily Paine, Communications Now an electrical engineering major with a Russian studies minor at Bucknell, Bayuk is hoping to help a new generation of girls discover the same scientific miracles that magnetized her interest when she was a kid and open doors for women in the still male-dominated world of engineering. This semester, with encouragement from her electrical engineering professor Philip Asare, Bayuk decided to self-publish her bullet-journal-style book through Amazon.com, and to expand the work into a series she calls Inside Electronics. Now, as she's taking more classes in her major, Bayuk is authoring accompanying books that explicate the classes' core concepts for younger readers. She's currently at work on two new entries: one about electronic signals and another about optoelectronics, and is writing each with the assistance and enthusiastic support of her professors. It's a challenge for sure, especially as Bayuk progresses to more advanced engineering courses, but it's also an effort she passionately believes in. "A lot of what I'm learning about now I didn't even hear about when I was growing up," says Bayuk, who grew up in Bedford, N.Y. "And I feel like if I knew about it, it would have made me that much more interested in engineering. I want as many kids as possible to be introduced to it at a younger age - especially girls." A Personal Mission Bayuk's mission is a personal one that reflects her own story. She loved math from the second grade, when her grandfather, a computer engineer from the industry's fledgling years, began teaching her the basics of algebra. But by the time she reached high school, Bayuk began to realize that as her math and science classes became more advanced, the field's gender gap became more pronounced. By the time she took an AP physics course her senior year of high school, she was one of only three women left. As Bayuk takes more classes in her major, she is using what she learns to create new books. Emily Paine, Communications Bayuk doesn't want young women who share her interests to feel that isolation, but she notes in her introduction to Circuits that statistics show her experience is far from unique. Less than 20% of bachelor's degrees in engineering and computer science are awarded to women, according to the National Science Board. "Why are women underrepresented if they are equally qualified? Perhaps it is a lack of interest. I want to change that," she writes. "If they are intrigued at a young age, perhaps we can change the trajectory of women in engineering." Her books have provided Bayuk a direct method of doing just that: Later this semester she'll be leading an activity based on her book at the Lewisburg Children's Museum, where she'll introduce elementary school students to the wonders that once captivated her interest. She's also been interviewed by a local public radio station about her work and saw Circuits featured in Bucknell Magazine. She's hoping the momentum she's building will eventually lead to a publishing contract, and with it, the opportunity to reach a much larger audience. "It's all about inspiring girls," she says.

Four Bucknell University students have received the Barry Goldwater Scholarship for the 2019-20 academic year, in recognition of their past achievements and future potential in the fields of mathematics, natural sciences and engineering. The winners, all of whom plan to pursue doctorates, are Ariana Majer '20, cell biology/biochemistry; Cheyenne McKinley '20, biology; Grace Rhoades '20, chemical engineering; and Will Snyder '21, neuroscience. This is a tremendous accomplishment that reflects Bucknell's exceptional undergraduate teaching and research opportunities.

It's an odd coincidence that a sudden blow to the head started Ian Vogel of Flemington, N.J. on the path that led him to receiving a Goldwater Scholarship - one of the most prestigious academic awards an undergraduate student can garner, and one that's likely to give him his choice of graduate programs where he'll pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience.

Mikaela Thomas of Aurora, Colo. is the first Bucknell University student to secure a David L. Boren scholarship, which will support her study of Arabic language in northern Africa.

Bucknell undergraduate Kellen Haile '18, a mechanical engineering major, has been awarded a prestigious SMART (Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation) scholarship from the U.S. Department of Defense. The competitive scholarship program is a federal workforce-development initiative to recruit highly skilled civilian employees in technical fields. Haile will receive tuition and stipend benefits as well as an offer of employment with the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Bethesda, Md., where he plans to focus on materials science and thermal technologies for Navy ships. Only 14 percent of students who applied for the award in 2017 received scholarships. Haile is the third Bucknell student to receive the award in as many years, and the fifth since the program was instituted in 2006. At Bucknell, Haile has done undergraduate research and participated in the Grand Challenges Scholars Program, STEM Scholars Program and the Engineering Success Alliance. He is also a member of the National Society of Black Engineers, Mobile Autonomous Robotics Club, American Society of Mechanical Engineers and DiscipleMakers Christian Fellowship.

The scholarship was established in 2008 with a testamentary gift from Olive B. Barr, a 1931 graduate of Bucknell and resident of Forty Fort, Pa., at the time of her death in 2001. The scholarship reflects Barr's belief in the importance of providing an educational opportunity for students in the liberal arts curriculum.