TENNESSEE SPACE GRANT/LEAP SCHOLARSHIPS FOR PHYSICS MAJORS
Eleven undergraduate students at East Tennessee State University were recently awarded scholarships through a new NASA Tennessee Space Grant program. These scholarships are intended for ETSU students majoring in Physics who are in the early stages of their college careers, and who are interested in participating in research projects in astronomy or physics. Additional funding for these scholarships was provided through the ETSU Foundation `Learning Experiences in Astronomy and Physics' (LEAP) scholarship fund. The students will each receive scholarships of $2000 for the Spring 2011 semester. The scholarship recipients will take a special 1-credit hour course during the Spring 2010 semester entitled PHYS-1500: `Research Methods'. This course will provide an introduction to basic research techniques in the field, and will prepare students for later research experiences, either with faculty at ETSU or as internships at other institutions. Among the students awarded the scholarships this year are Laura Ainsley Buchanan (Johnson City), Bryan Matthew Cannon (Elizabethton), Cory Lee Crigger (Gray), Jack Christoph Hartsell (Bristol VA), Joshua Wayne Lester (Kingsport), Tyler Aaron Preskitt (Telford), Terrance Rajay McDermott (Cleveland TN), Derrick Herman Rice (Erwin), Alyssa Michelle-Lee Spooner (Johnson City), and Nicholas Charles Willis (Johnson City). For more information about the program, contact the program coordinator Dr. Beverly Smith at smithbj@etsu.edu or 423-439-8418, or view the web site of the Dept of Physics and Astronomy at http://www.etsu.edu/cas/physics/. for more information about the ETSU Foundation and the LEAP scholarship, visit the ETSU Foundation web site at http://www.etsu.edu/alumni/foundation/