Owen McCulloch, an electrical and computer engineering student, was named a top presenter at the 2025 American Physical Society Summit’s poster session in Anaheim, California, in March. The APS Summit is the largest gathering of physicists in the world. McCulloch’s project, “Developing a Mechanically Driven Interfacial Shear Rheometer,” captured what he learned during a research experience for undergraduates at Penn State University.
McCulloch transferred to Rice from Lone Star College-CyFair last fall after participating in the Take Flight STEM Pathway, a partnership between Rice, San Jacinto College and Lone Star College designed to increase community college students’ access to and completion of STEM degrees at four-year institutions. The Take Flight program supports high-achieving students in a variety of ways and aims to promote their continued interest in STEM fields, facilitate completion of their associate’s degrees and prepare them for transfer to research universities, including Rice.