UA Scores High in Academics With Four Hollings Scholars

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Four students at The University of Alabama have received the prestigious and highly competitive National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship.

The students are Crystal M. Lowe of Dothan, Michelle McGaha of Albertville, Jackson Switzer of Gulfport, Miss., and Dylan Whisenhunt of Vestavia Hills.

For the second year in a row, the University ranked among the top five universities in the nation in total number of recipients for the scholarship, said Dr. Gary Sloan, UA professor of microbiology and coordinator of prestige scholarships and awards in UA’s Honors College.

“This puts us in very elite company with schools including the University of Oklahoma, Texas A&M University and the University of Michigan,” Sloan said. “For the past two years, the University is second in the nation with a total of eight students named as Hollings Scholars.”

The scholarship provides $8,000 per year for full-time study during the junior and senior years and $6,500 for a 10-week internship at NOAA or an NOAA-approved facility during the summer between the junior and senior years. The Hollings Scholarship is given in addition to existing awards the student may already receive.

Some 101 students were chosen nationally this year. Students studying biological and agricultural sciences, physical sciences, mathematics, engineering, computer and information sciences, social and behavioral sciences, and teacher education were eligible to apply.

Lowe, a chemical engineering major, is the daughter Kitty and SP Spradlin and Chester Lowe. She graduated from Houston Academy in Dothan in 2004. At UA, she is a member of Phi Eta Sigma honorary and Theta Tau professional engineering fraternity.

Lowe is a presidential scholar and is involved in UA’s Honors Program and the department of chemical and biological engineering honors program. She is active in the Society of Women Engineers and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. She has also co-oped with Southern Nuclear Co. in Waynesboro, Ga., and Birmingham.

McGaha, an industrial engineering major, is the daughter of David and Sharron McGaha. She graduated from Albertville High School in Albertville in 2004. At UA, she is a member of Phi Eta Sigma, Alpha Pi Mu and Tau Beta Pi honoraries and was named Computer-Based Honors Most Outstanding Freshman and Sophomore Student of the Year.

Through the Computer-Based Honors program, McGaha developed computer programs that helped determine the least hazardous travel route between two locations and currently is working on a program to convert 2-dimensional images into 3-dimensions models for research in variations in strain, temperature, and pressure on mechanical components. She is also an Honors College Ambassador and an Ambassador of the College of Engineering, and is president of the Institute of Industrial Engineers.

Switzer, a biochemistry major, is the son of Virginia Dale Switzer and John P. Switzer. He graduated from Gulfport High School in Gulfport, Miss., in 2004. At UA, he is a member of Phi Eta Sigma and Alpha Epsilon Delta honoraries, received a Randall Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award and was named a Blackburn Institute Student Fellow.

Switzer is a Presidential Scholar, Computer-Based Honors Program Scholar and a University Honors Program Scholar. He is an undergraduate researcher working with Dr. David A. Dixon, the Robert Ramsay Professor of Chemistry, studying computational chemistry.

Whisenhunt, a chemical and biological engineering major, is the son of Jim and Gloria Whisenhunt. He graduated from Vestavia Hills High School in Vestavia Hills in 2004. At UA, he is a member of Phi Eta Sigma and Alpha Lambda Delta honoraries and received a McWane Honors Undergraduate Research Fellowship and a Computer-Based Honors Program Fellowship.

Whisenhunt is active in Sigma Nu, Capstone Men and Women, the Interfraternity Council, and GEAR UP. He has worked with Dr. Duane Johnson, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering, researching the production methods of biodiesel fuels. In addition, Whisenhunt spent the summer in Oxford with the Alabama study abroad program.

The Hollings Scholarship Program is designed to improve undergraduate training in oceanic and atmospheric science, research technology, and natural resource education; increase public understanding of the importance of stewardship of the environment; prepare students for public service careers with the NOAA and other federal, state, and local levels of government that deal with natural resources; and improve scientific and environmental education in the U.S.