Lora Van Uffelen, a Hope College senior from Holland, has received a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship.
The three-year fellowships are offered by the Department of Defense to individuals who have demonstrated ability and special aptitude for advanced training in science and engineering. Fellowships are awarded for study and research leading to doctoral degrees in mathematical, physical, biological, ocean and engineering sciences.
A total of 206 of the fellowships have been awarded nationwide for the three years beginning this fall. The recipients also include a recent Hope graduate: Steven Molesa, an engineering major originally from Troy who graduated in 2001 and is pursuing a doctorate in electrical engineering at the University of California at Berkeley.
An engineering major, Van Uffelen is interested in ocean acoustics. She plans to do graduate work at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, which is affiliated with the University of California at San Diego. She conducted research at the institution during the summer of 2001.
Her long-term goal is to join the faculty of a college or university.
Earlier this spring Van Uffelen, who is also minoring in both music and mathematics, was named to the college's chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. She has also been named to the college's Dean's List throughout her undergraduate career.
As a participant in the college's 2000 Vienna Summer School, she won second place in the program's 19th annual Howard Plaggemars Essay/Poetry Competition for her essay "Standing Room." Her activities as a student have also included the engineering club, the Wind Symphony and the flute choir.
Van Uffelen is a 1998 graduate of Covenant Christian High School in Grand Rapids. She is the daughter of John and Linda Van Uffelen of Holland.
In the 13-year period running through 2001, the NDSEG program awarded approximately 1,600 fellowships from about 26,500 applications received. The newest round of three-year awards will pay full tuition and required fees, not including room and board, as well as a $23,000 stipend in the first year, $24,000 in the second year and $25,000 in the third year.
NSDEG fellows do not incur any military or other service obligation. The program is administered by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE).