Graduate Wins $120,000 NSF Grad Fellowship
This article has been archived. Information given in this article may be out-of-date or incorrect. Any web links listed in this article may be broken. Please search University of Kentucky News for more recent related articles.
Media Contact: , (859) 257-1754, x228
LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 18, 2005) − University of Kentucky graduate
student Ester Dittert has received a three-year, $120,000 National Science Foundation Graduate
Research Fellowship.
Dittert, a graduate student working under Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Associate Professor Sue Nokes, is helping a research project involving developing a mathematical model of the metabolism of a bacterium that could be used to increase the efficiency of ethanol fermentation.
Currently, corn is a key part of the process, but if the bacterium being modeled can be included in fermentation, other materials such as corn stalks and leaves could be used, reducing the need for corn in ethanol production.
The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship provides three years of support for graduate study leading to research-based master’s or doctoral degrees and is intended for students who are at the early stages of their graduate study.
“The NSF fellowships are highly competitive,” Nokes said. “It is a privilege to work with Ester during her graduate program.”
Dittert is a 2001 graduate of Tates Creek High School, and earned a bachelor’s degree in biosystems and agricultural engineering from UK in 2005. She expects to complete work on her master’s degree in 2007 and will then work toward her doctorate.
Biosystems and agricultural engineering is a collaborative program by the UK colleges of Agriculture and Engineering.
Dittert, a graduate student working under Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Associate Professor Sue Nokes, is helping a research project involving developing a mathematical model of the metabolism of a bacterium that could be used to increase the efficiency of ethanol fermentation.
Currently, corn is a key part of the process, but if the bacterium being modeled can be included in fermentation, other materials such as corn stalks and leaves could be used, reducing the need for corn in ethanol production.
The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship provides three years of support for graduate study leading to research-based master’s or doctoral degrees and is intended for students who are at the early stages of their graduate study.
“The NSF fellowships are highly competitive,” Nokes said. “It is a privilege to work with Ester during her graduate program.”
Dittert is a 2001 graduate of Tates Creek High School, and earned a bachelor’s degree in biosystems and agricultural engineering from UK in 2005. She expects to complete work on her master’s degree in 2007 and will then work toward her doctorate.
Biosystems and agricultural engineering is a collaborative program by the UK colleges of Agriculture and Engineering.