Cooper, a Camden, S.C. native, has been selected as a 2005 Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholar in the first year of the scholarship’s competition. Participation in the Hollings Scholarship Program exposes juniors and seniors to the mission of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The scholarship provides up to $8,000 of academic assistant per school year for full-time study during the junior and senior years. A required, 10-week, paid summer internship is included.

Cooper is a Carolina Scholar, Leiber Scholar, and member of the South Carolina Honors College. Her campus activities include working as a BLASST lab research assistant in the USC Department of Geology and Marine Science Program; coordinating the university’s Last Lecture Series; and serving as outreach coordinator for the Professional Society of International Studies. She plans to go to graduate school and build a career in science education outreach.

“In high school, I was involved in 4H, and I love to be outdoors,” Cooper said. “I got interested in public outreach through (marine science professor) Doug Williams’ Go Polar! program. I edited the Go Polar! Kids Club Newsletter and I worked with kids at EdVenture Children’s Museum, demonstrating the circulation of thermohaline in a wave tank. Outreach is a good area for me.”

Van Koughnett and Deutsch have received GRO Fellowships from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The program supports quality environmental education and encourages students to pursue careers in environmentally related fields. This year, only 30 such awards were given nationally.

Van Koughnett is a McNair Scholar from Loudon, Tenn., near Knoxville. The GRO fellowship will provide up to $17,000 a year for her junior and senior years of study and up to $7,500 for a 12-week summer internship at an EPA facility. She is involved in research in two biology labs on campus, where her work has focused on mussel growth and mortality and on metapopulation dynamics. She is a member of the Marine Science Undergraduate Society and the Russian Club.

“I spent time in 4H in middle and high school, and our family vacations were always spent doing outdoor activities. That showed me the value of an education outside the classroom,” Van Koughnett said. “This summer I worked at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga , where I coordinated summer camps for kids. I really liked it. I want to do graduate work in marine biology and biological oceanography, and go into formal public education, where you can make more of an individual impact.”

Deutsch’s GRO Fellowship provides up to $37,000 per year of support for up to three years. From Dobbs Ferry, New York, Deutsch is a graduate of Brown University and recently spent a semester in Tokyo, Japan at Sophia University investigating zeolite materials for reducing nitric oxide from simulated automobile exhaust. At USC, he conducts research in the area of environmental catalysis. He is a doctoral scholar in the African American Professors Program and serves as president of the Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Organization.

“I was attracted to USC because of its undergraduate research opportunities,” he said. “One summer, I participated in USC’s research undergraduate experience in environmental chemistry. I tried it out, liked it, and came here for graduate studies. After finishing the Ph.D., I’ll look for a post-doc to create breadth in my experience. I hope to eventually go into government laboratories to investigate toxic chemicals with the goal of cleaning up environmental waste.”

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