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UAB awarded coveted grant for research, mentorship

  • March 20, 2012

Six outstanding undergraduates will do research under the mentorship of top UAB researchers.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham has been named a 2012 recipient of the prestigious Beckman Scholars Program Award presented by the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation.

overhead_lab_student_2009The Beckman award, which provides scholarships for the advancement of education, research training and personal development of students in chemistry, biochemistry and the biological and medical sciences, is the first for UAB.

“This award recognizes the stellar quality of undergraduate research and faculty mentoring taking place across the UAB campus,” says Michael Sloane, Ph.D., director of the University Honors Program and the principal investigator on UAB’s successful application.

“The receipt of the prestigious Beckman Scholars Program is a tremendous accomplishment for our institution and a well-deserved recognition of the quality of undergraduate research and the willingness of national recognized faculty to invest time and energy into mentoring undergraduates,” Sloane says.

Arnold O. Beckman, founder and chair emeritus of Beckman Instruments Inc., represents nearly a century of outstanding scientific achievements. Considered one of the top five inventors of scientific instruments, Beckman created devices that revolutionized the study and understanding of human biology, ultimately saving countless lives around the world.

In 1997, the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation established the Beckman Scholars Program for accredited U.S. universities and four-year colleges.

The award is a highly competitive three-year grant for undergraduate research that will allow six top-ranking undergraduates to do research mentored by top researchers. The UAB departments of Biology, Biomedical Engineering and Chemistry were selected as the three academic units for the grant. Fifteen faculty will serve as potential mentors.