When most people think of parasites, they imagine something harmful. But for ARCS Atlanta Scholar Jordan Argrett, a Ph.D. candidate in Ecology at the University of Georgia's Odum School of Ecology, parasitic plants tell a much more complex story—one that could reshape how scientists understand ecosystems and conservation.
Each year, all fifteen regional chapters of ARCS Foundation are invited to participate in the annual Chapter Challenge, a friendly competition that encourages members, their families, and friends to support ARCS National through charitable giving. Contributions to the ARCS National Operations and Endowment Funds strengthen the Foundation's ability to serve chapters...
In the fall of 2024, Chris Simpson Brent (Northern California Chapter) recruited members for the inaugural ARCS National Scholar Relations Committee to strengthen engagement with our Scholars, particularly Scholar Alumni.
Once the committee was formed, several subgroups were established to address specific Scholar-related initiatives. One of the first...
Most people notice plants, trees, and crops growing above ground. Beatrice Bock is focused on what happens beneath the surface.
As a recent graduate from Northern Arizona University with her Ph.D. in Biology, Bock studied the relationships between plants and fungi and how those partnerships can support agriculture, ecosystem restoration, and...
When Abigail Matheny learned she had been selected as an ARCS Scholar, the first person she called was her grandmother. Matheny, an environmental graduate student at the University of Minnesota, was thrilled by the recognition. The two-year award totals $10,000 and can be spent as Matheny chooses. In addition to the...
Russell Sage College honored former Trustee Chair Patricia Sparrell ’78 at its 109th commencement ceremony in May. Sparrell received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree in recognition of her career, volunteer service, and philanthropy, which have opened doors for learners at every stage of their academic and professional lives.
The ARCS® Foundation Metro Washington Chapter (ARCS MWC) hosted the 2026 Eagle Award Celebration, attended by members of ARCS MWC and other ARCS chapters, and by donors, Scholars, Scholar Alums, and guests, on May 1 at The Army and Navy Club in Washington, DC.
For Jacqueline Avila, the path to bioengineering began with both curiosity and loss. Now a Ph.D. student in bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh, she is working to develop innovative solutions for one of the world’s leading causes of death: heart disease.
Avila conducts her research in the Soft Tissue Biomechanics...
Members, guests and Scholars recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Colorado ARCS Chapter. Nancy Kellogg, Chapter President, put it in numbers:
“Since the chapter’s founding in 1976 by trailblazing women, thanks to volunteers, donors, family foundations, and endowments, we have provided $7,073,500 cumulatively for 1,354 Scholar Awards. In the...
Her passion for science wasn’t exactly love at first lab. The only science career Larissa Robinson-Cooper knew of was being a doctor, and that wasn’t her dream. Still, she enjoyed Mrs. Smith’s anatomy and chemistry classes in her rural Michigan high school enough to...
