Six UAB Students Earn Fellowships, Scholarships from NASA-Alabama Space Grant Consortium

Six University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) graduate and undergraduate students have earned NASA Space Grant fellowships and scholarships from the Alabama Space Grant Consortium (ASGC

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Six University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) graduate and undergraduate students have earned NASA Space Grant fellowships and scholarships from the Alabama Space Grant Consortium (ASGC).

The ASGC, a participant in NASA’s National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, promotes America’s preeminence in aerospace into the next century. Its members include the state’s seven institutions involved in space-related research and teaching: the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Alabama A&M University, Auburn University, Tuskegee University, UAB, University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, and University of South Alabama.

UAB graduate students earning $22,000 ASGC NASA Space Grant Fellowships are:

  • Christina R. Richey, 22, from East Liverpool, Ohio. She is a graduate of East Liverpool High School and earned an undergraduate degree in physics at Wheeling Jesuit University. She is a doctoral student in the Department of Physics.

     

  • Urcun “John” Tanik, 33, of Birmingham. He graduated from North Garland High School in Garland, Texas and earned his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering at the University of Texas, Austin. He is a doctoral student in the Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering.

UAB undergraduate students named ASGC NASA Space Grant Scholars and earning $1,000 scholarships are:

  • Idris Lawal, 21, of Birmingham. He is a graduate of Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School in Birmingham and a senior biomedical engineering major.

  • Gerald Nichols, 45, of Maplesville. He is a graduate of Wilde Lake High School in Columbia, Maryland, and a junior mechanical engineering major.

  • Jessica Record, 19, from Jackson, Tennessee. She is a graduate of Jackson Central Merry High School and a junior chemistry major.

  • Timothy Thompson, 22, of Birmingham is a graduate of Colbert County High School in Leighton and a senior electrical engineering major.

“A significant goal of the awards is to encourage interdisciplinary training and research, to train professionals for careers in aerospace science, technology and allied fields, and to encourage individuals from underrepresented groups to consider careers in aerospace fields, said UAB Physics Professor and University Scholar Yogesh Vohra, Ph.D., UAB campus director of the NASA-ASGC program. In addition to scholarships and fellowships, NASA and the ASGC also fund a research experiences for undergraduates program, collaborative programs with industry and outreach programs in the state of Alabama.”

Now in its 16th year, the Alabama Space Grant Consortium presented $283,000 in scholarship and fellowships to students at its seven member institutions for the 2005-2006 academic year.