A&M-Commerce Students Receive NASA Fellowships

Wesley Adams and Chance Brown, both graduate students in the Texas A&M University-Commerce College of Science and Engineering, were recently awarded NASA Texas Space Grant Consortium Fellowship Awards for the 2014-2015 year.

“Only 20 fellows were chosen this year and these two were competing among many other prestigious schools such as Rice University, SMU, UTA and others,” said Assistant Professor for Physics and Astronomy and three-year TGSC Fellow Dr. Cheri Davis.  “Adams and Brown will carry this honor throughout their academic careers.”

Adams earned his bachelor's degree from Weber State University, and he is currently a candidate for a master's degree in astrophysics. He says his primary interest is in teaching physics and astronomy, and he plans to pursue a Ph.D. in physics education after the completion of his master's program.

Brown is currently pursuing a Master of Science degree in physics. The Tennessee native says he is interested in cataclysmic binary systems, or systems of stars with destructive behaviors. He plans to use this fellowship to delve deeper into his studies in physics and astronomy.

“After graduating with my M.S. in physics, I plan to move on to further graduate studies and to strive to garner more public interest in science,” said Brown.

Each student will be awarded $5,000 for research and studies related to his particular field of interest. The award is good for one year, and if selected, can be renewed for up to three years.

In recent history, A&M-Commerce has been awarded $12,000 in scholarships, $25,000 in fellowships and $15,000 in grants from TSGC. Drs. Grady Blount and Cheri Davis are currently the university's TSGC representatives.

“Being a part of the consortium has opened the doors of opportunity for many of our students,” said Davis.

For more information on TSGC and the award recipients, please visit http://www.tsgc.utexas.edu/grants.