Science and Engineering Scholarships and Fellowships Blog

Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) Students Awarded SMART Scholarship:

Vandeventer and Warner, the first KGI students to apply for the scholarship, were among 100 winners chosen from a pool of 1,600 applicants by the DoD. Each SMART scholar receives a stipend of up to $38,000, full tuition reimbursement and a book allowance of $1,000. Following graduation, scholars are required to work for the Defense Dept. for a period of time equal to the length of their scholarship support.

“This is a proud day for KGI,” said Sheldon Schuster, Ph.D., KGI’s president. “To have not one but two first-time recipients of this highly competitive honor in the same year is a tremendous testament to the quality of our students and their instruction. Peter and Chris exemplify the kind of scholars we have at KGI, faculty and students dedicated to producing applied research for the benefit of society.”

After completing KGI’s Master of Bioscience program in December, Vandeventer will pursue his Ph.D. in Applied Life Sciences. He is interested in helping to develop a handheld pathogen detection device which will involve the preparation of biological samples for DNA detection.

Warner, a second-year MBS student who plans to enroll in the Ph.D. program following graduation next spring, will research methods to mass produce antibodies for the treatment of infectious disease epidemics resulting from bioterrorism.