Southern Miss Students Named First Beckman Scholars in the State

Thu, 04/24/2025 - 03:09pm

Two students from The University of Southern Mississippi’s (USM) College of Arts and Sciences have been selected as the institution’s first-ever Beckman Scholars–and the first in the state–earning a place in one of the most prestigious undergraduate research programs in the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

Sophomore Ashe Davis, a polymer science and engineering major from Ocean Springs, and junior Noah Williamson of Hattiesburg, a double major in biological sciences and geography, will participate in the 15-month mentored research experience supported by the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. The program prepares exceptional undergraduate students in chemistry, biochemistry, biological sciences, polymer science, or interdisciplinary fields for graduate studies and careers in scientific research.

Southern Miss is the first university in Mississippi to receive a Beckman Scholars Program grant. The institution was one of only 14 nationwide invited by the Beckman Foundation to submit a proposal for the program funding and be selected as a 2025 recipient. The grant is administered through the USM Honors College.

Davis and Williamson were chosen from four finalists following a rigorous application and selection process, which included research proposals and project presentations. The review committee was composed of faculty members with extensive research mentorship experience, representatives from the Drapeau Center for Undergraduate Research, and the dean of the Honors College.

“Ashe and Noah were selected based on the high quality of their submitted documents, research presentations and responses to questions posed by committee members,” said Dr. Sabine Heinhorst, T.W. Bennett Professor Emerita and former dean of the Southern Miss Honors College. Heinhorst led the university’s successful grant proposal with support from faculty mentors and Honors College Dean Dr. Joyce Inman.

“Ashe and Noah have impeccable academic records and already boast impressive research accomplishments,” Heinhorst added. “They will be excellent representatives of Southern Miss in this prestigious program.”

Dr. Inman, who also served on the review committee, shared her enthusiasm for the students and the program.

“It was my privilege to serve on the Beckman Scholars Program review committee, and I’m excited Ashe and Noah will represent Southern Miss as Beckman Scholars,” Inman said. “It was also a pleasure to learn more about how their faculty mentors plan to work with them as they work toward their research goals. I’m consistently amazed by the investment our faculty make in our undergraduate researchers, and I’m delighted that Ashe and Noah will have the opportunity to learn from them with the support of the Beckman program.”

Davis, a student in the Honors College mentored by Dr. Tristan Clemons, said she was “in disbelief” when she learned she had been selected. “In that moment, I just recounted what led me to where I am today, like deciding to join the Honors College and the Clemons [research] Lab after my first semester at Southern Miss,” said Davis.

Davis said the support she’s received from family, friends, Dr. Clemons and other faculty members at USM “led me to this position [to be named a Beckman Scholar] and I can’t express how grateful I am for that.”

“They have been cheering me on since I submitted my initial application,” Davis added. “Their support means so much to me, and I am excited to conduct this research during the upcoming summer and academic year.”

Her research project investigates the suitability of peptide-targeted protein degradation methods to treat Parkinson's Disease. She will use liquid-liquid phase-separating droplets to enhance the intracellular delivery of a chimeric peptide that facilitates chaperone-mediated autophagy. This process is intended to break down aggregates of misfolded alpha-synuclein protein, a key driver in Parkinson’s progression.

Clemons said Davis has all the attributes to succeed as a Beckman Scholar, describing her as an “intelligent, thoughtful, and hard-working scientist.”

“Most importantly, however, is Ashe’s strong sense of community and the value she places in supporting those around her, all attributes priming her for continued success,” added Clemons.

Williamson’s research, mentored by Drs. Kaitlin Baudier and Kayla Stan, focuses on the Florida Harvester Ant (Pogonomyrmex badius), an imperiled species east of the Mississippi River that plays a vital role in seed dispersal and soil aeration.

“I’m grateful for this opportunity to represent the university on a national level and to further my research with the support of the Beckman Scholars Program,” Williamson said.

Williamson will use species presence data–from sources such as iNaturalist, GBIF and museum records–alongside environmental variables like climate, elevation and soil type to create a species distribution model which will predict the potential range of P. badius, provide insight into which environmental variables determine whether they can colonize an area, and how influential those variables are for persistence.

With a pilot model, potential persistence sites will be identified and surveyed for the presence or absence of P. badius (ground-truthing). The model will subsequently be improved by incorporating the data and employing multiple modeling techniques to yield a final ensemble model which will show the strictest, most forgiving and mean potential range of P. badius.

“With this insight, we can provide data to guide future conservation efforts regarding this species, potentially even considering it for candidacy as an endangered species,” Williamson said.

Dr. Baudier praised Williamson’s intellect and dedication.

“As soon as I learned USM had received funding from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, I immediately thought Noah would make an excellent Beckman Scholar,” said Baudier. “Since I first met Noah as a student in my General Zoology course in Fall 2023, I have been continuously impressed by their exceptional academic performance, and even more so, by their dedication to research pursuits outside the classroom.”

“Noah has a tremendous capacity to learn, and in a very short time has accumulated a multidisciplinary set of skills that uniquely positions them to make major headway in filling the kind of knowledge gaps existing between fields of science.”

To learn more about the Beckman Scholar Program and the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, visit their website. Learn more about the Southern Miss Honors College here.