Four students from Valley City State University, Valley City, N.D., have been selected to receive Graduate Student Research Assistantship awards through the North Dakota Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research program. The awards recognize the academic achievement of these students and provide significant financial support as they pursue master's or doctoral degrees in science, engineering and mathematics at the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, and North Dakota State University, Fargo.
David Givers, North Dakota EPSCoR co-project director, said, "The GSRA awards are very competitive, and only the best students in the state receive them. To have received four awards out of only six given statewide, VCSU should be very proud of both its programs and its students in science, math, and CIS."
EPSCoR was established by the National Science Foundation and is now a family of competitive merit-based programs spanning seven federal research and development agencies: the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Departments of Defense, Energy and Agriculture, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency.
The four VCSU students receiving the awards are:
* Jacob Mertes, Omaha, Neb., has a major in biology and a minor in earth and environmental science, and will conduct research with Dr. Vasyl Tkach in the department of biology at UND.
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* Michael Tomlinson, Rolla, N.D., has majors in chemistry, biology and health science, graduated cum laude, was named the Outstanding Health Science Student and will conduct research with Dr. Katherine Sukalski in the department of bioschemistry and molecular biology at UND.
* Ryan McCulloch, Valley City, has a major in computer information systems, a certificate in enterprise applications, and minors in English and computer science, and graduated summa cum laude, was named the Outstanding Computer Information Systems Student, and will conduct his research within the Department of Computer Science at NDSU.
* Steven Fasching, Mandan, N.D., has majors in fisheries and wildlife science and biology, was named VCSU's Outstanding Fisheries and Wildlife Student and will conduct his research within the Department of Natural Resource Management at NDSU.
