Smidansky Selected as Student Marshal for Eberly College of Science

Heidi Marie Smidansky of Bozeman, Montana, will be honored as the Eberly College of Science student marshal during fall commencement ceremonies on Saturday, 18 December 2004, at the Penn State University Park campus.

Smidansky, who will be completing dual majors in biology and geosciences, is enrolled in the Schreyer Honors College at Penn State, has been on the Dean's list every year, and has earned a 3.98 grade-point average. Her academic achievements have been recognized with a Penn State Environmental Chemistry and Geochemistry Fellowship and an Evan Pugh Scholar Award. She also received several academic scholarships, including a National Merit Scholarship, a USX/Marathon Oil Honor Scholarship, a Landon Award in Hydrogeology, a Lutheran Brotherhood Scholarship, a Bruce Miller Scholarship, a Matthew J. Wilson Honors Scholarship, an Edwin Drake Scholarship, and a Kumpf Scholarship.

In addition to serving as student marshal for the Eberly College of Science, she has been selected to serve as co-marshal for the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences along with her husband, Paul Smidansky. She says, "Being selected as the student marshal was completely unexpected because I know that I have so many talented classmates. It is also special to share this honor with my husband because we have been working together and encouraging one another throughout our academic careers."

Smidansky has been involved in research with Richard Parizek, professor of geosciences and geoenvironmental engineering, in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences Department of Geosciences from spring 2003 to fall 2004. She conducted research on the occurrence and transport of pharmaceutical contaminants in groundwater after wastewater irrigation. This research formed the basis of her senior thesis project. She worked with Susan Brantley, professor of geosciences and director of the Biogeochemical Research Initiative for Education (BRIE) and director of the Center for Environmental Chemistry and Geochemistry during the spring semester of 2001. In Brantley's lab, Smidansky used a scanning electron microscope to investigate bacteria and mineral interactions. While she was in Montana for the summers during 2001 and 2002, she conducted research with Mike Giroux, associate professor of plant sciences at Montana State University, using molecular-biology techniques to complete experiments on cereal-crop genetics.

During the spring semester of 2003, Smidansky had the opportunity to study German at the Goethe Institut in Dusseldorf and Prien, Germany, with the Study Abroad program. "I lived with a German family that didn't speak English, and had roomates from Kazakhstan and Spain," she says. "I learned German along with people from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Greece, Japan, Morocco, Thailand, and China. It was very motivational to have German as our only common language, and to watch our relationships grow along with our language skills."

Smidansky is a graduate of Bozeman Senior High School in Bozeman, Montana. In addition to her academic accomplishments, she played in the Penn State Cello Choir during 2001 and 2003. She enjoys quilting and outdoor activities such as camping and hiking.

Smidansky plans to work in science and would like to attend graduate school after she has some time in the work force to better focus her scientific interests. She and her husband will relocate shortly after graduation because Paul has just accepted a commission with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Commissioned Officer Corps, but they are not yet sure where his first assignment will be.

Smidansky will be accompanied at graduation by her husband-who is also receiving his bachelor's degree from Penn State this semester-and by her husband's grandparents, John and Nancy Smidansky. John Smidansky received his bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from Penn State in 1951. She has selected Mitch Price, an instructor in the Department of Biology, to be her faculty escort for the commencement exercises.