Washington, DC – The Southeastern Universities Research Association today announced the award of seven JSA fellowships for research related to the physics programs at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The 2007-08 academic year recipients, who are graduate students from SURA member universities, are:
- Nathan Baillie and Joseph Katich, College of William and Mary
- Panying Chen, University of Maryland
- Chiranjib Dutta, University of Kentucky
- Edwin Munevar, The George Washington University
- Andrew Puckett, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Jixie Zhang, Old Dominion University
“SURA is proud to assist with these fellowships which are an important investment in future scientists,” said Jerry P. Draayer, President and CEO of SURA. “Furthermore, they provide an excellent opportunity to grow the research capacity of SURA schools through the association of these students and their faculty mentors with a world-class research laboratory.”
The awardees were recommended by a Fellowship Selection Committee chaired by Thomas Clegg, a professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and long-time, former SURA trustee. Other members are Gordon Cates of the University of Virginia, Chair of the Jefferson Lab User Group Board; Gerard Gilfolye, University of Richmond; Richard Haglund, Vanderbilt University; and Robert Welsh of the College of William and Mary and Head of the Jefferson Lab Office of Student Affairs.
In his letter of award recommendation to Draayer, Professor Clegg noted, “[C]ommittee members agreed that the overall quality of the candidates selected for these fellowships remains high, which speaks well of the continued attractiveness of both JLab and of its physics.”
The fellowship award amount is equal to one half the nine month stipend of a research assistant at the applicant's home university (the university must pay the other half) plus $2,000 and a travel allowance of an additional $2,000. The average total award for 2007 is over $12,000.
These fellowships were initiated by SURA in 1989 to assist in increasing the opportunities for graduate study at Jefferson Lab and to enhance the research capabilities of outstanding students at SURA member universities. Jefferson Science Associates (JSA) – of which SURA is majority partner – was created in 2006 to compete for, and now serve as, the new management and operating contractor for JLab. The fellowship program has been continued under the aegis of the JSA.
Through 2007, a total of 133 fellowship awards have been made to students at 18 SURA member universities.
For more information contact:
Greg D. Kubiak
Director of Relations and Communications
202-408-7872
kubiak@sura.org