Eberly College of Science Selected for 2019 Beckman Scholars Program Award
Penn State’s Eberly College of Science has been selected as a 2019 Beckman Scholars Program Awardee by the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, an organization dedicated to advancing research in chemistry and the life sciences. This program recognizes 12 premier undergraduate institutions from across the country with strong faculty and research facilities that support undergraduate research.
The Beckman Scholars Program Award will benefit six Eberly undergraduate students over three years. Selected students receive a total of $26,000, which will support their research, attendance at conferences, and general stipend. Students will also attend the Beckman symposium, where they have the opportunity to network with other students as well as faculty that have been selected as Beckman Fellows.
Kenneth Keiler, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn States, credits the success of the research program in the Eberly College of Science to its excited students, the supportive community of laboratory groups, and the undergraduate seminar course that provides information regarding research that may be difficult to learn in lab. In this course, students learn everything from how scientific funding works to how to read a scientific paper and present a research talk.
Keiler also expresses the importance of ensuring that scientific research opportunities are accessible to all undergraduate students.
“We have a research support network that allows students who may not have a research background to quickly be acclimated to research, understand what it’s about, and be able to get started.”
By having this support network, the faculty are able to expand the number of students that come from various backgrounds to participate in research. Students are generally recruited in their first and second semesters so that research can begin as soon as possible in their college careers. Eberly’s research labs also include a plethora of resources and instruments that are supported through funds from various organizations including the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and Department of Defense. Support from the Beckman Scholars Program Award will allow for awardees to continue their research in these labs for 16 months.
Keiler and Meredith Defelice, associate head of undergraduate affairs, spearheaded the application in collaboration with over a dozen colleagues who will act as research advisors for selected students: Paul Babitzke, Squire Booker, Craig Cameron, Phil Bevilacqua, Santhosh Giriragan, Ken Keiler, Tim Miyashiro, Frank Pugh, Joe Reese, Melissa Rolls, Wendy Hanna-Rose, Scott Showalter, and Song Tan. Each of these faculty members submitted a statement on their commitment to undergraduate research during the application process. Selected students will be announced during the Spring 2019 semester.