Nine graduate students selected for WVU Foundation scholarships

The Office of Graduate Education and Life has announced the recipients of the 2021 WVU Foundation Scholarship awards. Scholarship review committee members said they were impressed by the high caliber applications received and have selected four recipients for the WVU Foundation Distinguished Doctoral Scholarship and five recipients for the Carl del Signore Foundation Scholarship for master’s students working towards the completion of a thesis. Graduate students provide incredibly valuable research, teaching and services to the WVU campus and the greater Morgantown community. OGEL provides these awards to help these highly qualified students defray the costs of their education and promote the dissemination of their research to a broader audience.

Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

WVU Distinguished Doctoral Scholarship Awardees

Alaina Tiani
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
Ph.D., Clinical Psychology

"I am grateful to accept this scholarship as it will be immensely helpful in supporting my dissertation work examining the relation between sleep and cardiovascular reactivity. Through this work, I hope to inform public health and integrated behavioral healthcare initiatives regarding the influence of sleep quality on physiological reactions to stress, a known predictor of long-term cardiovascular health outcomes."

Brent Shapiro-Albert
Sharon, Connecticut
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
Ph.D., Physics, with a focus in Astrophysics

“I am extremely honored to have been selected for this prestigious scholarship. This award will allow me to continue to do my dissertation research, which is focused on studying how the interstellar medium affects radio signals emitted from a type of neutron star called a pulsar. In particular it will help me to continue to develop simulation software to aid in these studies, as well as teach new students about pulsar astronomy.”

Sofía España Pérez
Mexico City, Mexico
College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences
Ph.D., Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology
“It is a great privilege to receive this scholarship. The award has helped me feel more confident in myself as a researcher and has affirmed my professional ambitions of empowering women through the use of sport. It has also helped alleviate some of the financial burden of pursuing a doctorate. I am deeply grateful for this honor!”

Xinwei Bai
Xiamin, China
Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources
Ph.D., Chemical Engineering

“I would like to express my sincerest gratitude for being selected as the recipient of the WVU Foundation Distinguished Doctoral Scholarship. I feel this honor will help me work much harder toward my ultimate goal [of] becoming a professor to advance natural gas conversion technology, helping developing countries/regions improve their energy utilization industries, and train next-generation scientists.”

Carl Del Signore Foundation Scholarship Awardees.

Erin Morrison
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design
M.S., Wildlife and Fisheries Resources

“This scholarship will allow me to focus on conducting my fieldwork for my thesis on bobcat kitten survival without worrying about the financial strain caused by student fees.”

Kaylyn Zipp
Oneonta, New York
Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design
M.S., Wildlife and Fisheries Resources

“I am humbled and truly grateful to receive this award. This award staves off the financial burden of this coming semester allowing me to continue to research the impact of thermal history on the bioenergetics and gene expression of Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. The award reminds me that hard work and perseverance does pay off, and I am extremely thankful to the awards committee.”

Kristin Ratliff
Cumberland, Maryland
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
M.S., Biology

“This scholarship will defray educational costs as I conduct my thesis research on drought tolerance in tree species used for biofuel production and pursue a teaching certificate. It will also enable me to participate in professional organizations to become more involved in my field.”

Rebecca Caughron Chalmé
Sewell, New Jersey
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
Ph.D., Psychology, Behavior Analysis

“I am so grateful and honored to receive the Carl del Signore scholarship. This award will help to support my doctoral research in Dr. Karen Anderson's behavioral pharmacology lab.”

Stephanie Augustine
Palmerton, Pennsylvania
Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design
M.S., Wildlife and Fisheries Resources

“I am grateful to have received this scholarship which will support me in my journey to complete my master's thesis research. For my degree, I am investigating the annual survival and migration patterns of Canada Warblers in the Monongahela National Forest. Within West Virginia, this charismatic declining species is narrowly distributed at mid and high elevations in the Appalachian corridor, and I hope to contribute to scientific knowledge and conservation management plans with the results of my research endeavors.”

For more information, contact Bmei@mail.wvu.edu.