Members of this year’s class of Ronald E. McNair Scholars join program director Gerald Bryant, middle, for a photo by the fountain outside Langdorf Hall. This year’s McNair Scholars include, from left, Tess Moran, Natalie Flores, Zemed Sebhatu, Wendy Gudiel, Stacy Ellis and Ester Pla.

The McNair program, named for astronaut and Challenger space shuttle crewmember Ronald E. McNair, was established by the U.S. Department of Education in 1986 to encourage students to pursue graduate studies. It provides opportunities to participate in research studies with faculty mentors, as well as help to develop the skills and mentor relationships critical to success at the doctoral level. This year, Scholars are producing a new publication featuring their research projects, including Dave Bolger’s “Investigating the Role of D-3 Phosphoinositides in Asidian Sperm”; Aracely Ahumada’s “Conflict or Cemplement? Alternative Therapies among Mexican American Diabetes Patients”; and Susan Phelps’ “In Vitro Fertilization of Danio Rerio: An Alternative for Successful Husbandry.” The first McNair Scholars Journal is set to be published this week.