COLLEGE STATION, Texas, May 19, 2009 – Lucas Kinard, a recent graduate of the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, has been awarded a graduate research fellowship from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
As a fellowship recipient, Kinard, who worked with Assistant Professor Zhengdong Cheng while completing his undergraduate coursework at Texas A&M University, will receive three years of financial support for his graduate career, which he intends to begin at Rice University.
Kinard will receive a beginning stipend of $30,000 for this academic year. In addition, he will be awarded a $10,500 cost-of-education allowance, as well as a $1,000 one-time international travel allowance. Kinard will also be granted access to the TeraGrid Supercomputer, which integrates high-performance computers, data resources and tools, and high-end experimental facilities around the country.
At Texas A&M, Kinard developed a method of forming micro-scale tubes made of alginate. He hopes to build upon that research and turn this construct into a useful tissue-engineered material.
Earlier this academic year Kinard attended the 2008 American Institute of Chemical Engineers annual meeting where he placed second in the undergraduate student poster competition’s Food, Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology division. Kinard received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering during the university’s spring commencement ceremonies, held last week.
The Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in the United States and abroad.
NSF Fellows are expected to become knowledge experts who can contribute significantly to research, teaching and innovations in science and engineering. These individuals, states the NSF Web site, will be crucial to maintaining and advancing the nation’s technological infrastructure and national security as well as contributing to the economic well-being of society at large.
