Chemistry Ph.D. students earn prestigious STEM Careers Fellowship

Monday, Aug 31, 2026 • Greg Pederson :

Maria Olds and Calvin Heyl, UTA doctoral students in chemistry.

Two doctoral students in chemistry at The University of Texas at Arlington earned a prestigious fellowship designed to prepare students for careers aligned with the national security agenda through defense-relevant research experiences.

Calvin Heyl and Maria Olds received the ASCENDR Fellowship from the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities (HSRU). They are two of 30 doctoral students nationwide to be selected for the program’s inaugural cohort. 

The ASCENDR (Advancing STEM Careers through Education, Networking, and Development + Research) program is a one-year, cohort-based fellowship that provides STEM doctoral students with a structured experience combining faculty-mentored research with immersive learning focused on the strategic, organizational, and technical dimensions of the United States’ defense research enterprise.

Fellows participate in professional development activities which are organized around core thematic pillars that introduce them to the defense innovation ecosystem, national security challenges, and career pathways within the U.S. Department of Defense science and technology enterprise. Fellows also receive $12,500 to help fund their research.

The program includes quarterly cohort meetings to discuss topics including research communication, career pathways, and networking. There are learning modules, assignments, quizzes, and webinars, all directed towards developing skills of scientific communication to broad audience types. The program will culminate in an ASCENDR conference in June 2027, where the fellows will meet in person to present their research to program administrators and Department of Defense officials.

Calvin Heyl

Heyl grew up in Gilbert, Arizona, a Phoenix suburb, and received a B.S. in Biochemistry from Arizona State University in 2021. While exploring doctoral programs he was intrigued by UTA’s organic and biochemical chemistry research, and he began work on his Ph.D. in 2023 with Joseph Buonomo, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, as his faculty mentor.

“I was very grateful when I found out I was selected for the ASCENDR fellowship,” Heyl said. “I am looking forward to the networking opportunities available through the program, and the extra money never hurts.”

Heyl’s doctoral research focuses on developing a more robust method for single-cell protein sequencing by using a nanopore-based approach. Single-cell sequencing provides a higher resolution of cellular differences and a better understanding of the function of individual cells.

“The impacts of this research include increased detections of biomarkers for diseases, allowing for earlier disease detection,” Heyl said. “Additionally, this platform would enable greater discoveries in the field of proteomics [the large-scale study of proteins].”

Maria Olds

Olds grew up in Coffeyville, Kansas and received a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2006. She has a family and lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, so when she decided to enroll in a doctoral program, she looked at several in the DFW area. The difference came down to UTA’s strong research program in analytical chemistry, she said. She started in the Ph.D. program in 2023 with Daniel Armstrong, Welch Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, as her faculty mentor.

“Learning I was selected for ASCENDR, I was instantly excited,” Olds said. “I had not previously been provided with such an extensive opportunity to develop my scientific communications skills and network with decision-makers at government entities. Now that we have started the work, I already find it rewarding and look forward to the year of growth.”

Her doctoral research has included things as specific as insect gut microbiota breaking down pesticides, and as broad as new methods of ion chromatography.
“Analytical chemistry provides insights into so many processes and products that we encounter on a daily basis,” she said. “Learning to specialize in chromatography under the advisement of Dr. Armstrong has provided me the ability to develop methods of analysis of many different types of samples in many contexts.

“The impact on my life from learning here has been immense, and in general the impact of our research group, alongside the other research groups, is to provide the world with our expertise for the next set of analytical challenges.”

The Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities (HSRU) includes 24 leading research-intensive institutions designated as Hispanic-Serving Institutions, including UTA, which share a commitment to expand educational pathways and advance research excellence. Launched in August 2022, the Alliance is dedicated to increasing the number of doctoral degree holders, contributing to the higher education professoriate, and enhancing the nation’s research, scientific, and technical workforce.

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