Contact: Eugene Brown, Graduate Research Fellowship Program, (703) 292-5302; or Kristin K. Anderson, University Relations, (517) 353-8819, ander284@msu.edu

4/29/2004

EAST LANSING, Mich. – The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded fellowships to 11 Michigan State University students to help fund their graduate studies and research.

Two of the MSU students to receive the award are graduating this spring and plan to attend graduate school in the fall. The other nine already graduated and are attending or planning to attend graduate school.

“NSF’s Graduate Research Fellowship program is recognized for its role in providing prestigious awards to the nation’s most promising science, engineering and mathematics graduate students,” said Eugene F. Brown, program director of the Graduate Research Fellowship Program. “The winners at Michigan State University join approximately 1,000 fellows across the United States who received this award this year. They are to be congratulated for this achievement.”

Each student will receive a stipend of $30,000 for a 12-month tenure and an annual cost-of-education allowance of $10,500, which is paid to the academic institution for tuition and fees, for a maximum of three years over a five-year period.

The NSF fellowships are awarded for graduate study leading to research-based master’s or doctoral degrees in the fields of science, mathematics and engineering. Awards are given based on the students’ intellectual merit and the impact of their research.

Two current MSU graduating seniors who received the fellowship are:

• Tracy Leigh Kamikawa, Honolulu, is graduating from MSU in May with a bachelor of science in biosystems engineering. She plans to continue studying biosystems engineering in graduate school at MSU. She is an MSU Distinguished Scholar and was named Top Female in the College of Engineering. She received the United States Department of Homeland Security Scholarship and an MSU graduate assistantship. She also is a member of Tau Beta Pi. Kamikawa is using her fellowship to pursue her doctoral degree to research the application of biosensors to homeland security.
  
• Marita Lynn Sheldon, Scotia, N.Y., is graduating from MSU in May with a bachelor of science in materials science and engineering with a dance specialization. She plans to use her fellowship as she works toward her doctorate in biological sciences in public health at Harvard University. Sheldon is the president of Orchesis, a student dance organization. She is a member of the Council for Students with Disabilities and Supporters, the Honors College, Alpha Epsilon Delta and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. She wants to pursue a research career in academia or a public health related area.

Nine previous MSU graduates who received the fellowship are:

Thomas Alan Adams, DeWitt, graduated from MSU in 2003 with bachelor of science degrees in chemical engineering and computer science. He is studying chemical engineering with a focus in process design and control at the University of Pennsylvania. The NSF fellowship will fund his research in process design of novel reactive distillation systems, and he eventually plans to become a professor. He is the former president of the MSU chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the Omega Chi Epsilon chemical engineering honors society. He also was the treasurer and member of the MSU Men’s Club Tennis Team. He received a number of scholarships including the Reflux Club Scholarship, Lifeline Club Scholarship, Chemical Engineering Scholarship and Computer Science Scholarship.

Tyra Lynn Frazier, Greensboro, N.C., graduated from MSU in 2001 with a bachelor of science degree in biochemistry. She plans to go to graduate school at Emory University to study medical anthropology and international health with a concentration on public health systems in Senegal and French speaking West Africa. At MSU, she was named the Biochemistry Student of the Year in 2000. She was also a Rotary Scholar, and received the Woodruff Fellowship. She went on dinosaur expeditions in North Dakota, volunteered for a free clinic in Alabama, and participated in several clubs. She currently is in Dakar, Senegal, on a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship to study French. She eventually hopes to play a role in the establishment of funding and public health policies for West Africa and research how the United States influences these policies.

Ellen Frances Lau, Olive Branch, Miss., graduated from MSU ­­­­­­­­­­­with a degree in psychology in 2003. She is going to study linguistics at the University of Maryland. She plans on using her award to fund her research in psycho- and neuro-linguistics to answer questions about how linguistic information is encoded and processed in language production and comprehension. She received a Dean’s Assistantship to fund her honors thesis research on the processing of speech that is not fluent, and she is involved with child and adult literacy tutoring.

Danielle Nichole McEachin, Omaha, Neb., graduated from MSU in 2002 with a degree in biosystems engineering. She currently is studying biological and agricultural engineering in the first year of her master’s program at the University of California at Davis. She plans to continue there for a doctorate in the same field, but may join the Peace Corps before she starts the next program. At MSU, she was involved with the Residential Initiative for Study of the Environment (RISE) program. She received the Academic Excellence in Engineering Award and a number of scholarships including: MSU Regents, Howard F. & Esther L. McColly Scholarship, Brewer Scholarship, Michigan Centennial Farms Association Scholarship, A.W. Farrall Agricultural Engineering Scholarship and Institute for Global Engineering Scholarship. She is using her NSF fellowship to study phytotoxicity in composts and the possible use of composts in soil solarization for fumigating soils, which would encourage composting and the use of composts in agriculture, which would address waste management and environmental concerns.

Lisa Castillo Nelis, Chicago, graduated from MSU in 2000 with a bachelor of science degree in environmental biology. She started her doctorate program at the University of Chicago in 2002 where she is studying ecology in the Committee on Evolutionary Biology. She is using her NSF fellowship to fund her dissertation research on the effect of exotic plants on multiple tropic levels.She plans to continue studying ecology in a research institution and to better communication between scientists and the public. She received a number of scholarships and awards including the Distinguished Freshman Scholarship, the Spartan Scholarship and a Graduate Research Fellowship Honorable Mention. Nelis also received funding from NSF for its Research Experience for Undergraduates program to go to the Institute of Ecosystem Studies and the Rocky Mountain Biological Lab.

Christine Ann Nutter, Grosse Pointe Woods, graduated from MSU in 2002 with degrees in psychology and international relations. She currently is in a doctorate program at the Committee on Human Development at the University of Chicago where she is interested in studying child psychiatry across cultures from an ethnographic perspective. She will use her fellowship to support her training in anthropology as well as her fieldwork. At MSU, Nutter was a psychology research assistant; an advocate and childcare volunteer for the MSU Safe Place, an on-campus domestic violence shelter; and a member of Psi Chi, Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Iota Rho.

Joseph Charles Peltier, Newberry, graduated from MSU in 2000 with a bachelor of science in chemical engineering. He currently lives in Blue Bell, Pa., where he does vaccine development for a major pharmaceutical company. At MSU, he was a member of the Honors College and studied abroad at the University of Surrey in England in his junior year. He plans to pursue his doctorate in chemical engineering at the University of California-Berkeley starting this fall. He will use the NSF award for living expenses and to help fund a research project.

Cathryn Delores Peltz, Dearborn Heights, graduated from MSU in 2001 with a degree in mechanical engineering. She plans to study biomedical engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. She eventually hopes to get her doctoral degree in biomedical engineering. While at MSU, she was in involved with the Honors College, Tau Beta Pi, Golden Key, National Society of Collegiate Scholars and the Student Alumni Foundation. Peltz plans to use her award for tuition and living expenses while at graduate school.

Stephanie Leah Teich-McGoldrick, Haslett, graduated from MSU in May 2003 with a bachelor of science in chemical engineering. She currently studies chemical engineering at the University of Michigan where she is working toward her doctorate. At MSU, she was involved with the MSU Student Chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. She plans to use her award for tuition and expenses during graduate school.

For more information, visit the Web at www.fastlane.nsf.gov/fastlane.jsp