WKU News

Here’s a listing of recent awards and recognitions for WKU students and faculty from several departments.

Ogden College: WKU science graduate awarded NSF Fellowship

Shelby Rader visited Siccar Point along the coast of Scotland as part of her WKU in England experience at Harlaxton College.

Shelby Rader of Irvine, a 2012 graduate of the Honors College at WKU who majored in Geography & Geology and Chemistry, has been awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. This highly competitive award provides three years of financial support (including salary, travel and research funding) for graduate study while Rader pursues a science doctorate at the University of Arizona. The NSF-GRF is intended to challenge those scientists who will become future international leaders in their field, by providing the opportunity to explore cutting-edge areas of transformative science. The inclusion of three WKU Ogden College of Science and Engineering alumni in the award list (Shelby Rader, along with Schuyler Wolff, Physics and Astronomy; and Amanda Smelser, Biochemistry) pays tribute to WKU’s ongoing mission of educating and training the highest quality students in the nation.

Contact: Dr. David Keeling, (270) 745-4555.

Biology: Graduate student receives Gisela Mosig travel award

WKU biology graduate student Amanda Seaton was awarded the Gisela Mosig travel award to attend the 113th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Denver on May 18-21. The grant is awarded to the graduate student who submits the best-qualified abstract. Seaton works in Dr. Rodney King’s laboratory where she is defining the requirements for early gene expression in a newly discovered bacteriophage called HK639. The Mosig award honors the memory of Gisela Mosig (1930-2003), a pioneer in the field of phage T4 genetics, and is sponsored by New England Biolabs, a recognized world leader in the discovery, development and commercialization of recombinant and native enzymes for genomic research.

Contact: Dr. Rodney King, (270) 745-6910

Biology: WKU Microbiology Club receives grant

The WKU Student Chapter of the American Society for Microbiology recently received a $300 grant from the Kentucky-Tennessee branch of the American Society for Microbiology to support chapter activities. The chapter’s mission to promote student interest and enhance microbiology education at WKU, to further theoretical and practical knowledge of microbiology related research, to provide educational outreach programs to the community, and to promote student participation in local, state and national ASM meetings.

Contact: Microbiology Club advisor Dr. Rodney King at (270) 745-6910 or rodney.king@wku.edu; or Club President Meredith Doughty at mdoughty1122@yahoo.com.