DATE: May 14, 2009

CONTACT: Caye Drapcho, 864-656-0378
cdrapch@clemson.edu

WRITER: Jessica Lance, 864-656-2061
jrlance@clemson.edu

Clemson graduate student receives NSF fellowship

CLEMSON — Clemson University student Mary Katherine Watson of Summerville, a graduate student in biosystems engineering, received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship.

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship is a $30,000-per-year stipend and $1,000 research travel allowance. Nominees for the award are picked based on grade-point average, Graduate Records Examination scores, a personal statement, previous research experience, a proposed plan for future research and letters of recommendation from faculty.

“I am excited to have received an NSF graduate fellowship and I am confident that undergraduate and graduate research in biosystems engineering at Clemson University has prepared me to continue my graduate education,” said Watson.

Watson completed undergraduate and graduate-level research in biosystems engineering at Clemson with associate professor Caye M. Drapcho. She also participated in SC-LIFE undergraduate research and departmental honors research in biosystems engineering to prepare her for graduate research.

Watson will begin work toward a Ph.D. in environmental engineering at Georgia Tech in the fall.