Thanks to the generosity of alumni, faculty, and community supporters, UTD Geosciences is able to offer scholarships to our students. In spring 2021 we awarded a total of $21,250 to 23 of our undergraduate and graduate students.
Twelve undergraduates were awarded scholarships. Pranto Anandma, Carla Lara, Caroline Lonneman, Takara Leornas, Lysandra Real, and Cara Williams all received scholarships from the Dallas Gem and Mineral Scholarship Fund. Katie Seals received a scholarship from the Oppenheim Endowment. Blake Madigan and Jake Bosworth received a scholarship from the John Scales Fund. Meraf Zenebe received a scholarship from the James B. Urban Fund. Nnchetta Somtochukwu received a scholarship from the Gaynor Opportunity Fund. James Forsyth received a scholarship from the Petroleum Geology Opportunity Fund. Lysandra Real was the spring 2021 Outstanding Senior and won another scholarship from the Kent C. Nielsen Outstanding Senior Fund.
Eleven graduate students received scholarships. PhD candidate Jonathon Stine received a scholarship from the Kristian Soegaard Memorial Fund. MS candidate Yang Zhang received a scholarship from the James Carter Endowment. Shuo Zhang received a scholarship from the Matthew Brzostowski fund. Jordan Newman received a scholarship from the Gaynor Opportunity Fund. Bingxu Luo received a scholarship from the Garrick Opportunity Fund. Solomon Akatakpo received $1,000 from the Geissman Opportunity Fund. Zial Haque and Ning Wang received scholarships from the Schwartz Opportunity Fund. Siloa Willis received a scholarship from the Distinguished Alumni Opportunity Fund.
Jaewook Lee and Xueyan Li were each awarded the prestigious Anton Hales Fellowship for outstanding PhD students in geophysics. This award will cover their Research Assistant stipends and tuitions for the summer semester 2021, and provide a $500 travel grant to a research workshop or conference. Jaewook Lee is studying under Professor David Lumley and researching unconventional shale reservoirs to improve understanding of their rock physical properties (seismic Vp, Vs, density, porosity etc.) as a function of shale specific properties like total organic carbon (TOC), and brittleness index (BI). Jaewook is linking his rock physics analysis to seismic data in order to better predict, characterize and monitor shale reservoir fluid flow with seismic data. Xueyan Li is studying under the supervision of Associate Professor Hejun Zhu and is constructing an upper mantle tomographic model for Australia. His model will include 3D variations in seismic velocities and radial/azimuthal anisotropy that enable us to better understand tectonic evolution in this area. In addition, he is working on mechanics for deep earthquakes in the Tonga-Kermadec subduction zone.