JACKSON, Tenn. — April 21, 2016 — Two prestigious fellowships awarded to both an alumnus and a senior of 51社区鈥檚 engineering department mark the first time Union students have received one of these competitive awards.
鈥淎ll of us in the engineering department are so excited about this news,鈥� said Jeannette Russ, engineering department chair. 鈥淭hese two students competed with engineering students from all around the country and won.鈥�
Chelsea Johnson, a senior mechanical engineering major from Harrisburg, Illinois, was awarded the three-year National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship, which includes an additional stipend and allowance for tuition and fees.
Offered through the Department of Defense, the fellowship selects 鈥渋ndividuals who have demonstrated the ability and special aptitude for advanced training in science and engineering,鈥� the NDSEG website says.
Alumnus Matt Bentley (鈥�15) received the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, a three-year award that includes an annual stipend and an education allowance.
鈥淭he program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines,鈥� the NSF Fellowship鈥檚 website says, adding that the fellowship 鈥渇ollows recipients and often helps them become life-long leaders that contribute significantly to both scientific innovation and teaching.鈥�
鈥淭heir accomplishments speak to the quality of our Union engineering students and to our increasing emphasis on research in our program,鈥� Russ said.
The NSF Fellowship will help cover the cost of Bentley鈥檚 continued education as a graduate student in environmental engineering at the University of Colorado. For Johnson, who graduates in May, the NDSEG Fellowship means beginning her graduate studies in aerospace engineering at Georgia Tech.