For students who wish to pursue a career in science, conducting research during their undergraduate careers is vital to their future success. Many students are blessed with the opportunity to engage in research. However, there are some who are held back from pursuing their passions due to financial constraints. One student organization is trying to rectify this issue. Scientia is a student-run science journal supported by the College of Science and the Charles Edison Fund. The journal’s goals are to: promote high quality undergraduate research, give science students the essential skills of writing and reviewing, and add to the advancement of the Notre Dame science community. Through a generous donation from the Charles Edison Fund and collaboration with the College of Science, Scientia is offering a brand new fellowship for undergraduate students.
The Charles Edison Fellowship is a $1,500 fellowship that will be granted to two undergraduate students who are passionate about pursuing research, but have financial struggles. “Research is a vital element to an undergraduate science education. However, this process requires much time and effort, and many students cannot commit time to research due to financial circumstances and must rather have an on-campus job.” says Daniel Pape, co-editor-in-chief of Scientia. “The Edison Fellowship will give these students the opportunity to participate in research and make discoveries in their field of interest.” Fellow co-editor-in-chief, Luke Maillie, is hopeful for the future of the fellowship. “We just released the application during the Wednesday of spring break and have already received several applications. Based on the number of interested students, we hope we can offer more aid to students in the future.”
It was a relatively long process to get the fellowship initiative off the ground. “Starting the program required the close cooperation between Scientia staff, the College of Science, Development, and the Charles Edison Fund,” said Dominic Chaloner, the faculty advisor for Scientia. The collaboration sessions began last school year. “The College of Science and Edison Fund were very supportive of our initial idea to sponsor this fellowship,” said Pape. “Each provided Luke and me with critical feedback and offered helpful suggestions when designing the Fellowship.” Notre Dame has benefited from a relationship with the Charles Edison Fund for decades. Charles Edison, the son of inventor Thomas Edison, created the fund to honor his father’s legacy by supporting science and engineering education and innovation.
The fellowship is open to current sophomore and junior students enrolled in the College of Science. Students must be currently working in a lab, receive a letter of recommendation from their research advisor, and demonstrate financial need in order to apply. The application deadline for the fellowship is March 31st. More information about the fellowship can be found here as well as the application. More information about Scientia can be found here.
Originally published by at science.nd.edu on March 28, 2017.