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The Office of Weights and Measures (OWM) is happy to welcome Dominick Mendez and Yoon Thwel and who are serving as a 2026 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program fellows conducting Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education research.
Dominick Mendez | School: University of Maryland – Baltimore County
Dominick Mendez is a new student joining OWM pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry with a Minor in Physics, with hopes of using his experiences to continue inorganic Chemistry research in academia and federal fields. His hope is that by continuing these advances in science, he can conduct other students in STEM to make even bigger strides in the inorganic sciences.
Already using statistical spreadsheets in his art passion projects where he needs to track the quality and performance of art competitors and their works, his SURF summer project uses his data-processing knowledge to track the stability of OWM-owned Proficiency Testing (PT) artifacts, from mass standards to slicker plate test measures, to provers, over time.
Yoon Thwel | School: University of Maryland – College Park
Yoon Thwel is returning to OWM as a Summer Undergraduate Research Program fellow (SURF) within the Metric Program with research advisor Elizabeth Benham, to develop and publish Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education resources focused on the International System of Units (SI) and measurement science.
Her projects include publishing a Celsius temperature education video and classroom activity for elementary learners, optimizing website content, expanding educational resources within the NIST Educational STEM Resource Registry (NEST-R), and supporting hands-on STEM activities for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) and the NIST Summer Institute for Middle School Science Teachers educators.
Yoon is a student at University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland pursuing a bachelor’s degree in technology and information design. During her 2025 Montgomery College Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) NIST OWM internship, Yoon found her passion in bridging the gap between science and students through education outreach. In her spare time, Yoon enjoys practicing various art forms, playing instruments, and exploring museums.