Archive for the ‘Scholarships’ Category

Rob Thomas selected as one of CASE, Carnegie 2009 U.S. Professors of the Year

Thursday, November 19th, 2009

November 19, 2009:  Rob Thomas—a professor of geology at The University of Montana Western—will receive one of four 2009 U.S. Professors of the Year Awards today in a ceremony at the Willard InterContinental Washington in Washington, DC.

Thomas is being honored for his commitment to teaching field geology to undergraduate students. He also helped the University of Montana Western become the first public university to transition from regular semester courses to block scheduling.  As part of this new schedule, Thomas offers a course title “Experience One,” where geology students enroll in a single course for 18 days.  Coursework is primarily outside in a field setting and focuses on real-world research projects.

The 2009 U.S. Professors of the Year Awards are administered by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and Websoft sponsored by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.  These awards recognize professors for excellence in teaching and commitment to undergraduate students.  Along with four national winners, CASE and Carnegie have selected state-level Professors of the Year from 36 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam.

TeraGrid “Bridge Day” Strengthens K-12 Science Education

Friday, August 14th, 2009

The National Science Foundation sponsored TeraGrid program is a partnership of people, resources, and services working to advance scientific research, technology, and education. A key part of this mission is helping educators better prepare  students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

On June 25th, 2009, TeraGrid hosted a Bridge Day event that brought middle school and high school teachers together with experts in high performance computing (HPC) to discuss strategies for improving STEM education. Bridge Day gave these teachers a small sample of the resources TeraGrid provided to K-12 classrooms this year.

Find out more about TeraGrid at http://www.teragrid.org/.

National Ground Water Research and Educational Foundation Awards $12,000 in Scholarships

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

The National Ground Water Research and Educational Foundation (NGWREF) awarded a total of $10,000 to eight students from its Len Assante Scholarship Fund, Foundation President Alan Eades, CWD/PI, announced today.

Breana Hashman of West Chester, Pennsylvania, won the Past President’s Award—the top scholarship presented to the most qualified of the applicants. Hashman, who is studying geology at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, received $2,000 toward her education.

The other recipients are:

  • Matthew J. Palmer of Fort Worth, Texas, $2,000 for the Ora Lyons Scholarship named in honor of a former distinguished National Ground Water Association (NGWA) member; Palmer will attend Tarrant County College in Fort Worth to study hydrology
  • Peter J. Laciano of New Providence, New Jersey, $1,000; Laciano will attend Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, to study environmental science and geology
  • Amber C. Rolader of Bostwick, Georgia, $1,000; Rolader attends the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, studying environmental science
  • Crystal L. Nickel of Lake Mills, Wisconsin, $1,000; Nickel attends the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire studying geology and hydrogeology
  • Laura A. Hempel of Tallahassee, Florida, $1,000; Hempel attends Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, studying environmental science
  • Caroline L. Vallelian of Argyle, Texas, $1,000; Vallelian plans to study environmental science
  • David C. Mills of Janesville, Wisconsin, $1,000; Mills attends the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh studying hydrogeology

NGWREF also awarded $2,000 in scholarships to four students for their paper presentations made at the 2009 Ground Water Summit that took place in April. The $500 scholarships are given in honor of the late Dr. Robert Farvolden, former senior science counsel for NGWA.

The scholarships were awarded based on the quality of the presentation, content (including contribution to ground water science, engineering, management, or policy), and demonstrated insight on the chosen topic.

The winners are:

  • Marcel Sousa of the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, for “A Systematic Approach for Assessing the Potential Impacts of Beneficial Management Practices on Wells Affected by Nonpoint Sources of Contamination”
  • Hooray Ajani of the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona, for “Quantifying Spatial and Temporal Variability of Mountain System Recharge in Semiarid Catchments”
  • Danielle Moss, Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, for “Introduction of Relatively High Conductivity Material and the Effects on TCE Degradation and Remediation”
  • Megan Smith of the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado, for “Polymer-Enhanced Remediation Techniques for More Effective Treatment of Heterogeneous Aquifers.”

This marks the 32nd year in which scholarship awards have been made. Since its inception, the scholarship program has supported 179 students in their pursuit of education.