Students Richard Darst and Vincent Holmberg at The University of Texas at Austin have received five-year, $240,000 fellowships from the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation.
The students in chemistry and in chemical engineering, respectively, are among 15 offered the prestigious Hertz Foundation Fellowships out of more than 580 U.S. applicants. The fellows were selected to receive the $240,000 in research support based on their potential as future leaders in engineering and science.
The support that begins next fall is intended to provide fellows in the applied physical, biological and engineering sciences with the independence to conduct innovative research.
Darst, who graduates in May with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, will use the fellowship to enter a doctoral program in theoretical chemistry this fall. He plans to continue his study of statistical mechanics theory, a field he’s researched in the laboratory of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Professor Peter Rossky since the summer after his freshman year. Darst has also worked as a teaching assistant in physical chemistry courses, and has co-authored a number of scientific papers with Rossky.
Holmberg will use the fellowship in the laboratory of Chemical Engineering Professor Brian Korgel to continue his graduate studies on the synthesis and fabrication of semiconductor nanowire devices. These nanomaterials and devices could improve the performance of chemical sensors and other electronic structures.
Holmberg graduated summa cum laude with high distinction in 2006 from the University of Minnesota with bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and chemical engineering.
The Hertz Foundation announced the 2007 fellowship awardees at its annual symposium in mid-March. Since 1963 the Foundation has provided the fellowships to students at 36 educational institutions in the U.S.
