Hope College has received a second consecutive award for student research from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation of Irvine, Calif.
Hope is one of only four liberal arts colleges and
one of only 18 institutions nationwide to receive a "Beckman
Scholars Program Institutional Award" for 2000 and 2001.
Hope had also received one of the two-year awards in 1998,
the year that the program began.
The 2000-2001 recipients were chosen on the basis
of excellence from among an already-select group of 131
institutions invited to apply for the awards by the
foundation.
"The 18 2000-2001 Beckman Scholars Program
Institutional Award recipients have convincingly
demonstrated excellence, distinction and distinctiveness in
their undergraduate research capabilities and commitments as
well as in their plans and activities for their Beckman
Scholars," said Dr. L. Donald Shields, chair of the Beckman
Scholars Program.
The foundation established the Beckman Scholars
Program to enhance the training of the nation's most
talented and gifted undergraduates in chemistry and the
biological sciences by providing sustained, in-depth
laboratory research experiences with faculty mentors. The
program will be supporting a total of 71 students
nationwide.
"This is the first program that actually offers
undergraduates students a stipend for year-round involvement
with research," said Dr. William F. Polik, who is an
associate professor of chemistry at Hope. "The Beckman
Foundation is very forward-thinking in regard to the
importance of research to a young scientist's career--to
actually be practicing scientists as undergraduates."
The $52,800 award to Hope will support three
students as they conduct research in chemistry or the
biological sciences. The award will support the students as
they conduct research with faculty members full-time during
two summers and part-time during the intervening school
year.
The students will be biology, biochemistry or
chemistry majors who will be juniors at the start of the
school year following their initial summer research
experience. They will be expected to stay involved in
research at Hope as seniors, and if they wish will even be
able to continue during the summer following graduation.
The Beckman Scholars are among scores of students
who conduct research in the sciences at Hope during both the
summer and the school year. There were more than 120
students engaged in such research during the summer of 1999
alone.
The college's first Beckman Scholar, chosen in
1998, is senior Katie Horsman of Battle Creek, who has one
manuscript in press and a second near completion concerning
her research, and has made several campus-, regional- or
national-level symposium presentations about her work. The
college's two 1999 Beckman Scholars, juniors Jordan Schmidt
of Eagan, Minn., and Junu Shrestha of Kathmandu, Nepal, have
made both campus and regional presentations regarding the
work they began last summer.
Polik described the Beckman Scholar award as "the
most prestigious internal award made to Hope College science
students." He noted, though, that the research award's
impact goes well beyond the recognition and support given to
the recipient students.
"Beckman Scholars are visible student leaders on
campus, which enriches the atmosphere for all students by
highlighting the value of undergraduate research as an
important and vital part of the educational process," he
said. "Because of the length of engagement in research,
Beckman Scholars mentor younger students who are beginning
research and they serve as role models for students who
aspire to succeed."
The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation was
established in 1977. The foundation supports leading-edge
research in chemistry and the life sciences, and fosters the
invention of methods, instruments and materials to open new
avenues of research and application in those disciplines and
related sciences. The foundation's support of education
ranges from programs for elementary-age students to support
for young scientists engaged in research at universities and
research institutes.
In addition to Hope, the colleges and universities
to receive Beckman Scholars Program Awards for 2000-2001
are: California State University, Long Beach; California
State University, Los Angeles; Carnegie Mellon University;
The College of William and Mary; Duke University; Illinois
State University; New York University; Princeton University;
San Francisco State University; Trinity University in Texas;
the University of Arizona; the University of California, San
Diego; the University of Iowa; the University of Minnesota;
the University of Utah; Wellesley College; and Williams
College.