Two grad students awarded NASA fellowships

Space grant fellows Mary Lemcke and Michael Zellner

3:08 p.m., June 7, 2004--UD graduate students Mary D. Lemcke and Michael Zellner, doctoral candidates in geography and materials science respectively, have been awarded NASA 2004-05 Delaware Space Grant College Consortium (DESGC) fellowships.

Lemcke received her bachelor’s degree in geological sciences from Albion College in Albion, Mich., and a master’s degree in geography from the University of Delaware. She is investigating changes in Antarctic sea-ice thickness and mass balance in response to variations in climate by using ship-based and satellite observations.

Zellner did his undergraduate work in physics at Millersville University in Pennsylvania. He joined the UD materials science program in the fall of 2000, where he is working on developing catalyst materials to replace expensive platinum/ruthenium anodes used in hydrogen fuel cells. By developing a cheaper alternative material to act as a catalyst, the cost of fuel cells, which generate electricity, will go down.

DESGC administers the Delaware component of NASA’s National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, a national network of colleges and universities whose mission is to expand opportunities for Americans in aeronautics and space programs by supporting science and engineering education, research and outreach programs.

UD’s Bartol Research Institute is a lead institution within the network and, as such, receives an annual NASA grant for programs supporting space research, education, outreach, student scholarships and fellowships and special initiative programs.

Article by Barbara Garrison
Photo Kathy Atkinson

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