OSU student is Knight-Hennessy Scholars Finalist

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Oklahoma State University student Nicholas H. Nelsen was named among 100 finalists for the 2018 inaugural Knight-Hennessy Scholars program, a fully-funded graduate fellowship offered at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. More than 3,600 applications were filed for the fellowship from potential candidates around the world. 

Nelsen, from Stillwater, is the son of Dan and Hannah Nelsen. He is an OSU Honors College senior in a triple degree program, which includes honors bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering and mathematics, and a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering. 

Knight-Hennessy Scholar candidates are high-achieving students who were selected because of their independence of thought, demonstrated leadership, and civic commitment. The goal of the scholars program is to develop a new generation of global leaders. It is the largest fully endowed scholars program in the world.

Although he has not yet decided which university he will attend as a graduate student, Nelsen’s career goal is to earn a doctorate in fluid dynamics and pursue a research career at a national laboratory or major research institution. As a scientist, he aspires to develop numerical methods for multi-scale multi-physics problems including turbulence and atmospheric modeling.

Nelsen is a National Merit Scholar and recipient of the 2017 Barry Goldwater Scholarship, Niblack Research Scholar award, two Wentz Research Grants, Kerr Research Fellowship, and Eagle Scout award. On campus, he has been active in the Pi Mu Epsilon Math Club, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Pi Tau Sigma, and mathematics tutoring at OSU.

The Henry Bellmon Office of Scholar Development and Undergraduate Research has long been a national leader and innovator in scholar development, assisting highly-motivated students through competition for prestigious national/international fellowships, encouraging student-faculty mentoring, undergraduate research, curricular options in the OSU Honors College, international travel experience and exposure to other cultures. For more information, contact Jessica Sullins at jessica.sullins@okstate.edu or phone (405) 744-7313.