OSU's Timmons, Heintzman earn prestigious NSF graduate fellowships
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Cortney Timmons
Lesa Heintzman
The 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 in the early stages of their graduate study.
Timmons and Heintzman will receive a $10,500 annual tuition allowance and a $30,000 annual stipend that can be used for up to three years of graduate study. The universities they will be attending also will provide a full tuition scholarship to cover any tuition or fees that the fellowship does not cover.
Timmons, who will receive her bachelor’s degree in biosystems engineering in May, will use the fellowship to study at Colorado State University. As a biosystems engineering major, her coursework encompassed the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology, and the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.
“I’m really grateful for this fellowship and excited to make the next step in my educational journey,” Timmons said. She credits Sarah Rowland, an OSU graduate student in biosystems engineering, who received this fellowship last year, with encouraging her to apply.
She was named the 2009 Outstanding Engineering Student and received a CEAT St. Pat Award, and received a 2009 Dean Fred LeCrone Award for being one of the Top Five Seniors in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. In 2008, she received a Truman Scholarship, and in 2007, was one of 80 students in the U.S. to receive a Morris K. Udall Scholarship.
She served as CEAT Student Council president, was named a CEAT Scholar and has traveled with other CEAT Scholars to Japan. She has been active in the OSU Scholar Development and Recognition Program, and has been both a student and a summer traveler to Cambridge and Dublin for specialized courses.
She recently was named Oklahoma Collegiate Recycler of the Year for “Real Cowboys Recycle.”
She has served as an Agriscience Ambassador, held the Frank Lucas Agricultural Policy Internship, and was selected twice for the highly competitive Lew Wentz Research Project Awards, where she was mentored by OSU faculty Dr. John Solie, Regents Professor, and Dr. Glen Brown, professor, both of biosystems and agricultural engineering. She received a first place award in research competition from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.
She is the daughter of Steve and Lisa Timmons of Ada. She is a 2004 graduate of Byng High School.
Heintzman received her Honors College Degree in civil engineering in December.
She was selected for the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology Scholars Program, served as treasurer of Chi Epsilon civil engineering honor society, and was awarded a Wentz Research Scholarship.
Since receiving her bachelor’s degree, she has worked as a structural engineer-in-training for Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon, Inc., in Nashville, Tenn.
Heintzman plans to start graduate school at Vanderbilt University in September where she will pursue a master’s degree in civil engineering under the guidance of Dr. Florence Sanchez.
“Receiving this fellowship means I will be able to start my research into the use of nano cement and its ability to resist acid attack,” she said.
Heintzman credited Dr. Deeann Sanders, associate professor, and Dr. John Veenstra, professor and head, both of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, in helping her to obtain the fellowship, along with Jessica Roark, assistant director of the OSU Honors College.
She is the daughter of Pamela Heintzman of Joelton, Tenn., and the late David Heintzman.
The Graduate Research Fellowship Program invests in graduate education for a cadre of diverse individuals who demonstrate their potential to successfully complete graduate degree programs in disciplines relevant to the mission of the National Science Foundation.