Villanova One of Top Producers of Fulbright Awards
Among master’s institutions, Villanova is one of the top producers of
Fulbright awards for U.S. students, reported the
Institute of International
Education (IIE). Three Villanova students (see below) received Fulbright grants
for 2006-2007.
The October 20, 2006, issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education contains a
special feature on the Fulbright Program. The article highlights the Fulbright
Program’s new critical languages emphasis, and new opportunities that are
available to Fulbright students through the Fulbright Critical Language
Enhancement Awards. It also includes the lists of
“Top Producing” schools –
those campuses in each Carnegie Classification that had the highest number of
students who received Fulbright grants this year.
Not only is Villanova University one of this year’s top producing master’s
institutions for U.S. Fulbright students, but the University also has the
distinction of currently hosting one Visiting Scholar during the 2006-2007
academic year.
“Villanovans have fared extremely well in the Fulbright Program throughout the
years,” said
Jane Morris, director of the
Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships at the University. “Since 1976, more than 30 Fulbright grants have been
awarded to Villanova students and alumni. The
College of Arts and Sciences has
been well-represented among these Fulbright scholars. ”
According to the IIE, “[Villanova’s] strong support of the Fulbright Program
is a clear indicator of Villanova University’s commitment to the value of
international education in these complex times, and to the promotion of mutual
understanding in the world. We thank you for your institution’s fantastic work,
and your commitment to the Fulbright Program.”
Villanova University Winners in National Fellowship
Competitions
Fulbright
Alexandra Bausch (’09, Chemistry), who was awarded the 2008
Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship for Excellence in the sciences, has been
awarded a 2009 Fulbright U.S. Student Program Grant to continue
her research in Environmental Chemistry at the University of Stavanger
in Norway. As an undergraduate, Ali worked with Dr. Amanda Grannas in
the Chemistry Department investigating organic pollutants in the Arctic.
Her future plans include obtaining a Ph.D. in analytical environmental
chemistry and serving as a scientific officer with an environmental
advocacy group.
Samuel Freedman (Dec. '08 B.A., Philosophy) has been awarded
a Fulbright to serve as an English Teaching Assistant in
New Delhi, India next year. In the Fall of 2007, Sam studied abroad in
India, Nepal, and Tibet as a Connelly Delouvrier International Scholar.
He documented his experiences in Asia in an article published in October
'08 in the Travel Section of the Philadelphia Inquirer. After his
Fulbright year, Sam will return to the US to pursue a Ph.D. in Asian
Studies or Philosophy.
Carolyn Hurwitz ('09 B.S., Biology) was notified that she is
an alternate for a Fulbright Grant to pursue a course of study in food
culture and communication in Italy.
Alex Jutca (’09, Economics/Honors) was a finalist for an
English Teaching Assistantship in South Korea. Next year, Alex will
serve as a Research Assistant for the Federal Reserve Board in
Washington, DC.
Rhodes
Tiffany Brown ('08, Psychology/Cognitive Science) was
selected as a finalist in the 2009 Rhodes Scholarship competition.
Tiffany graduated from Villanova in May 2008 with a degree in Psychology
and a minor in Cognitive Science. Tiffany, a member of the Villanova
Women's Swim Team, currently works as a research intern at the
University of California at San Diego, studying anorexia nervosa in
adolescents.
Udall
David R. Rounce ('10, Civil and Environmental Engineering)
has been awarded a 2009 Morris K. Udall Undergraduate Scholarship.
The Udall Scholarship, established in 1996, honors Congressman Udall's
legacy of public service by awarding scholarships to students who are
committed to careers related to the environment or to Native
Americans/Alaska Natives engaged in tribal public policy or health care.
David has established his commitment to environmental activism through
his participation in Villanova's Undergraduate Research Program with Dr.
John Komlos and his involvement with water resource management programs
both in the College of Engineering and in the broader community.
Jessica Shaw ('10, Civil and Environmental
Engineering/Physics) has received Honorable Mention in the Udall
Scholarship program. A Villanova University Presidential Scholar,
Jessie's remarkable academic performance in 2 undergraduate colleges
combined with her strong desire to develop clean and sustainable
alternative energy resources earned her this distinct honor. This
summer, she will be an intern at the Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory.
Goldwater
The following
students received Honorable Mention in the Barry M. Goldwater
Scholarship competition: Shreya Trivedi ('10 Biology/Honors)
and Jonathan Axtell ('10, Chemistry). Shreya, a Villanova
University Presidential Scholar and a Villanova Undergraduate Research
Grant awardee, has been actively engaged in molecular endocrinology
research with Dr. Louise Russo since her freshman year and she was a
summer research student last year at the University of Pennsylvania.
Jonathan's work in organometallic chemistry, which he has been pursuing
in the lab of Dr. Deanna Zubris since freshman year, has been published
in the Journal of Organometallic Chemistry. Last summer, he participated
in a Research Experience for Undergraduates at James Madison University
and this summer he will be a research intern at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology.
SMART Scholarship
Kevin Woods ('07 B.S., Mechanical Engineering; Ph.D.
candidate in ME) has received a SMART Scholarship from the
Department of Defense (http://www.asee.org/fellowships/smart/)
to complete his doctoral studies in Mechanical Engineering at Villanova.
The Science, Mathematics And Research for Transformation (SMART)
Scholarship for Service Program is an opportunity for students pursuing
an undergraduate or graduate degree in Science, Technology, Engineering,
and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines to receive a full scholarship in
exchange for a period of full-time civilian employment with a Department
of Defense organization. Kevin is the first Villanova student to receive
this award.
Critical Language Scholarship
Samuel
Silverman (’09, Political Science/Geography) has received a 2009
Critical Language Scholarship (https://clscholarship.org/home.php)
to study Mandarin Chinese this summer at Soochow University, located in
the historic cultural center of Suzhou, Jiangsu Province in
central-eastern China. Sam hopes to remain in China next year teaching
English. The Critical Language Scholarship, sponsored by the United
States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
and administered by the Council of American Overseas Research
Centers(CAORC), offers intensive summer language institutes overseas in
eleven critical need foreign languages. The program began in 2006 in an
effort to expand dramatically the number of Americans studying and
mastering critical need foreign languages. Sam is the first Villanovan
to receive this award.
In addition, Junior Amy Richards ('10
Honors) has been selected to represent the state of Pennsylvania this summer at
the Henry Clay Student Congress (http://www.henryclaycs.org/student_congress.html)
in Kentucky. Senators from each of the 50 states are asked by the Henry Clay
Center for Statesmanship to recommend one college junior from their state to
attend the Student Congress. Amy was nominated by Senator Robert Casey.
Villanova University Undergraduate Student Collaborative
Research Awardees, 2009-2010
Name
Major
Mentor
Project Title
Adam Beckmann
Civil/Environmental Engineering
David Dinehart
Pullout Capacity of Anchor Bolts in Concrete
Amanda Bernier
Biology
Janice Knepper
Visualization of Mouse Mammary Tumor Virus
Integration at Fragile Sites with Fluorescence in situ Hybridization
Giana Bistany
Biology
Angela DiBenedetto
An Investigation of Brd2 as a Homeotic
Regulator of the Engrailed Gene in Zebrafish
Margaret
Carragher
Civil/Environmental Engineering
Leslie McCarthy
Pavement Specifications in Public Private Partnerships
Taryn
Cazzolli
Biology
Aaron Bauer
The morphology of the nasal region in Gekkonidae
Jared Coughlin
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Edward F. Guinan
XMM-Newton X-Ray Observations of the Solar Twin
18 Scorpii
Kellie Datin
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Laurence DeWarf
The ABC's of Alpha Centauri: Analysis of the
Alpha Centauri System
Victoria del Rio
Psychology
Diego Fernandez-Duque
The Role of Perspective in Intentionality and
Moral Judgments
Adrienne Donaghue
Civil/Environmental Engineering
John Komlos
Microbial Source Tracking to Assess Pathogens
in Goose Creek
Aasia Ferdous
Chemistry
Barry Selinsky
Cloning and Expression of Trypanosome Membrane
Proteins
Eliza Fradkin
Biology
Angela DiBenedetto
Spaciotemporal Study of Brd2 Proliferation
Patterns in Zebrafish Nervous System Development
Kathryn Greising
Civil/Environmental Engineering
Bridget Wadzuk
Testing the Nitrogen Cycle in a
Constructed Storm Water Wetland
Kent Grosh
Mechanical Engineering
Hashem Ashrafioun
Intelligent Exoskeleton
Kyle Haney
Psychology
Susan Naylor-Emlen
Differing Visual Focal Points
Within Mental Rotation Strategies
Colleen Knill
Education
Jerusha Conner
Urban Youth's Perception of Working
with College Mentors on Senior Projects
Paul Lemaire
Chemical Engineering
Randy Weinstein
Graphite Nanofibers (GNFs) as Metal
Supports
Phillip Lin
Mechanical Engineering
Alfonso Ortega
An Innovative Method to Measure the
Transient Surface Temperature Distribution of a Droplet Impinging on a
Heated Flat Surface
John Nelson
Mechanical Engineering
James O'Brien
Main Stream Water Filtration
Techniques Applied to Rural Communities
Susan Mischinski
Mechanical Enginnering
Ani Ural
Computational Multiscale Modeling
of Fracture in Bone
Stephanie Mulhern
History
Charlene Mires
National Memorial Arch at Valley
Forge, PA
Janine Myszka
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Edward Sion
Hubble Space Telescope Far
Ultraviolet Spectroscopy of Cataclysmic Variables: Probing Their
Evolution and the Physics of Accretion
Michael Patson
Geography and the Environment
Nathaniel Weston
Impact of sea level rise and salt
water intrusion on plant growth and seed-bank recruitment in oligohaline
marshes of the Delaware River Estuary
Juliette Power
Biology
Dennis Wykoff
Identification of genes
contributing to the phosphate transduction pathway in
Schizosaccharomyces pombe
Courtney Shipman
Biology
Mary Desmond
The dynamic balance between cell
proliferation and cell death in the neuroepithelium of late stage chick
embryos
Shreya Trivedi
Biology
Louise Russo
The temporal analysis of the types
of cytokines and leukocyte infiltration the uterine tissue compartment
in response to estrogen treatment in immature rat uterus
Karen Zusi
Biology
Robert Curry
Diagnostic molecular markers:
distinguishing Black-capped and Carolina Chickadee genetic identity in
hybrid-zone populations
