Science and Engineering Scholarships and Fellowships Blog

Christopher Colson and Sarah (Grochowski) Lukes (photo), are both working on their doctorates in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Two MSU students receive NSF research fellowships

Colson, who used to be a nuclear engineer officer on a submarine, will focus on power systems related to alternative energy. Lukes, who was MSU’s top engineering student in 2005, will work to improve the focus controls on optical instruments used in surgery.
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Before coming to MSU, Colson, a native of Washington, D.C., graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1999 and served most of seven years on a submarine. When his service ended, Colson said he was “kind of reborn as an electrical engineer” and decided to attend graduate school. He was attracted to MSU because of its strong power systems program. “I always knew I wanted to pursue research,” Colson added.

His time on the submarine was all about nuclear energy, Colson said. He will use his fellowship to work on power management of power generation systems as they relate to alternative energy. “It’s an absolutely relevant topic for the NSF to be supporting,” Colson said.

Lukes, a native of Casper, Wyo., will use her fellowship to improve the focus controls on optical imaging devices. She will work in the Montana Microfabrication Facility at MSU and apply her understanding of mechanical systems to catheter-based microscopy.

Lukes earned her undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering. She became interested in research and developed her abilities through internships, Lukes said. At the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., she analyzed the joint space in knees and attended several conferences on transplants and related technology. At Boston Scientific, she was involved in stent development. When she interned with Ross Snider at MSU, she helped analyze neurological data from crickets. She learned machining while working in Doug Cairns’ composite materials laboratory at MSU.