Source: Jim Hohenbary, 785-532-6904, jimlth@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Beth Bohn, 785-532-6415, bbohn@k-state.edu
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
K-State Third in Udall Competition
TWO K-STATE STUDENTS NAMED UDALL SCHOLARS
MANHATTAN -- Kansas State University students Iris Wilson, Manhattan, and Nicholas Long, Topeka, are among the 80 students nationwide who are receiving $5,000 Morris K. Udall Scholarships.
Wilson is a junior in geography and natural resources and environmental sciences, and Long is a senior in architectural engineering.
"According to the Udall Foundation, this year was the most competitive yet for the Udall scholarship, with more than 500 scholarship applications reviewed," said K-State President Jon Wefald. "To have two K-State students named Udall Scholars this year not only speaks highly of their qualifications, but also shows how well a K-State education prepares our students to succeed at the highest level, as well as the strength and commitment of our faculty to help K-State students achieve.
"It has been a terrific spring for our K-State student scholars, with three of our students receiving Goldwater scholarships and now two students earning Udall scholarships," Wefald said. "Since 1986, K-State students have won 124 nationally competitive scholarships -- the Rhodes, Marshall, Truman, Goldwater and Udall -- more than any other public university in the nation."
The Udall is a congressional scholarship that honors the former Arizona congressman for his legacy of public service. Scholarship recipients must be seeking either a career related to the environment or be a Native American or a Native Alaskan seeking a career in health care or tribal policy, said James Hohenbary, K-State assistant dean for nationally competitive scholarships.
Wilson has been involved with several projects related to the environment, including taking tree ring samples at K-State's Konza Prairie Biological Research Station to study historical climate changes and how those changes may have contributed to ecological changes in the region. The recipient of the 2006 Huber Self Geography Scholarship, Wilson has interned with the National Park Service, creating a digital database of lidar-derived maps for national parks in Florida. At K-State, she has assisted with Girls Researching Our World and has worked with the Human Environmental Regional Observatory research project, assessing climate changes in southwest Kansas where the Ogallala Aquifer is used to irrigate crops.
Wilson also has worked with Shawn Hutchinson, associate professor of geography, in K-State's Geographic Information Systems Spatial Analysis Laboratory, assisting with a project supported by the Kansas Forest Service. A graduate of Manhattan High School, she is the daughter of Bruce and Rose Godfrey, Manhattan.
Long also has been active with several projects related to the environment. He helped Shepherd's Crossing in Manhattan to conduct home energy audits; he was a summer 2007 energy and resource consulting intern for Arup in Los Angeles; and he studied environmental engineering at the Technical University of Munich in Germany during summer 2006. Long has served as president of the K-State chapter of the National Society of Professional Engineers and is an executive officer of the College of Engineering Ambassadors. He also has been an Engineering Telefund coach. He is a member of several academic honoraries, including Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honorary; Phi Alpha Epsilon, the architectural engineering honorary; Chimes, the junior leadership and service honorary; Silver Key, the sophomore leadership and service honorary; and Quest, the freshmen leadership and service honorary.
Long has earned a study abroad scholarship from DAAD and a Blue Key scholarship, and was named Tau Beta Pi Underclassman of the Year, 2004-2005. The son of David and Jane Long, Topeka, Long is a 2004 graduate of Topeka High School.
K-State students have now earned 20 Udall scholarships. K-State is third among state universities in Udall scholarship competition. Only the University of Montana with 31 and Arizona State University with 21 have had more Udall winners since the competition began in 1996.