A few weeks ago, I shared the news of Kendall Bradley’s outstanding performance at the Northern Indiana Regional Science and Engineering Fair (NIRSEF). I am thrilled to follow up with another reason to celebrate.
At the Hoosier Science and Engineering Fair / Indiana State Science Fair, Kendall earned the 2nd Place Award from the American Chemical Society (ACS) for Excellence in Chemistry for her work on IgG–gold nanoparticle conjugates. While she did not advance to the international stage this round, recognition from the ACS is a meaningful endorsement of the chemistry rigor underlying her bioengineering project — and a fitting capstone to her junior-year research.
A Champion in the Lab and on the Field
It is worth pausing to appreciate the scope of what Kendall has accomplished as a high school junior. She balanced graduate-level laboratory research with a full academic load and her duties as captain of Marian High School’s 2A Girls Soccer State Championship team, and she did all of it without losing the curiosity and humility that make her a pleasure to mentor. The ACS award is the kind of recognition that follows that kind of effort.
What’s Next: A New Chapter, A New Direction
I am also delighted to announce that Kendall will be returning to the PD[N]ano Lab for her senior-year independent study, with work beginning virtually over the summer and continuing on campus through the academic year (pending final approval through Notre Dame’s Youth Protection process, which is already underway).
Her next project will mark a deliberate shift in approach. Rather than continuing exclusively at the wet bench, Kendall will move into the computational design of nanoparticles. This direction was chosen because it is both feasible within the constraints of a senior-year schedule and, I believe, where she can have the most impact at this stage of her training. Computational design lets us explore parameter spaces — particle size, ligand density, surface chemistry, targeting geometry — far more efficiently than synthesis-and-screen alone, and it dovetails naturally with the bioengineering questions her IgG-conjugate work raised. Reducing IgG loading density to enable Protein G “bridging,” for example, is exactly the kind of question a computational model can help answer before the next round of bench experiments.
It is also excellent preparation for her stated college plans in biomolecular engineering, where computation and experiment are increasingly inseparable.
Looking Ahead
I want to thank Kendall for her note of appreciation after the competitions wrapped up — and for her commitment to keep going. Mentoring students like Kendall is one of the most rewarding parts of running this lab, and I am grateful to the Notre Dame Office of Institutional Equity and the Youth Protection team for the framework that makes hosting young researchers possible.
Congratulations again, Kendall. We’re looking forward to another great year.
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