K-State students receive grants for graduate study, honorable mentions from National Science Foundation

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Source: James Hohenbary, 785-532-6904, jimlth@k-state.edu
Note to editor: Meredith Schlabach, formerly Meredith Martin, is a graduate of Hanover High School.
News release prepared by: Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, 785-532-6415, ebarcomb@k-state.edu

Thursday, March 29, 2007

K-STATE STUDENTS RECEIVE GRANTS FOR GRADUATE STUDY, HONORABLE MENTIONS FROM NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

MANHATTAN -- Kansas State University students have earned two Graduate Research Fellowship Awards and three honorable mentions from the National Science Foundation.

Earning fellowship awards are Matthew Basel, senior in biology, chemistry and biochemistry, Manhattan, and Meg Fasulo, senior in chemistry, biochemistry and microbiology, Olathe.

Receiving honorable mention honors are Meredith Schlabach, senior in mechanical engineering, Manhattan; Jeffrey Amos, senior in mathematics, Olathe; and Alyson Deines, senior in mathematics, Woodbine.

Basel and Fasulo were two of fewer than a thousand students across the nation to receive the honor. The awards are a $30,000 stipend per year plus a $10,500 payment per year that graduate institutions accept in lieu of tuition and fees, even when tuition and fees exceed that amount. The awards are renewable for up to three years of funding. James Hohenbary, K-State's assistant dean for nationally competitive scholarships, said this totals $121,500 plus a one-time travel award worth as much as $1,000.

The Graduate Research Fellowship Program's purpose is to ensure the vitality of scientists and engineers in the United States and to reinforce their diversity. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees. The fellows are expected to become experts who can contribute significantly to research, teaching and innovations in science and engineering.

Basel, who will graduate in May, will use his fellowship award to continue his studies at K-State as a graduate student. As an undergraduate at K-State, Basel received a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship in 2005, was named honorable mention to the USA Today academic team in 2006, and received a cancer research award this year from K-State's Terry C. Johnson Center for Basic Cancer Research. Formerly of Overland Park, Basel is a graduate of the Kansas City Christian School.

Fasulo will graduate in May and use her fellowship award at the University of California at Berkeley. She received a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship in 2005 and is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Undergraduate Research Scholar. She is a graduate of Olathe North High School.

About 1,400 students across the nation received honorable mention.

Schlabach is a 2005 recipient of a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship and a 2004 Ronald E. McNair Scholar.

Amos, in 2006, ranked among the top 3 percent of 3,545 students competing in the Putnam Mathematical Competition.

Deines was a 2006 recipient of a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and a 2005 recipient of a Clare Boothe Luce Scholarship.

Also earning honorable mention honors is Brooklyn Walker, formerly Brooklyn Lippelmann, a May 2005 K-State graduate in political science and originally from Lyons. She is currently studying at the University of Michigan. While at K-State, she won a Harry S. Truman Scholarship in 2004.