Athens, Ga. — Douglas Jackson, a University of Georgia Foundation Fellow and a 2006 Goldwater Scholar, has been selected to receive the J. Edgar Hoover Foundation Scientific Scholarship for the 2006-2007 academic year. He is the first UGA student to receive the $25,000 scholarship, which will support his graduate studies in analytical chemistry.
The Scientific Scholarship is nationally competitive and is awarded to one individual every year who demonstrates scholarly ability and leadership in a scientific field that helps law enforcement officials in their criminal investigations. Universities from across the nation are eligible to nominate one student for the financial award.
This is the sixth year the scholarship has been awarded, with previous winners from Ohio University, University of Maryland, Stetson University, Columbia University and George Washington University.
“Mr. Jackson’s great interest in the analytical chemistry field, particularly that area of technology involving methods to ensure homeland security, heavily interested the Foundation’s directors,” said Cartha D. “Deke” DeLoach, chairman and chief executive officer of the Hoover Foundation, who will present the scholarship to Jackson in a fall ceremony at UGA. “His interest in development of new techniques to assist law enforcement was noted, along with his work in outreach programs and receipt of numerous academic awards.”
Jackson, a senior from Round Oak, Ga., is pursuing combined bachelor’s/master’s degrees in chemistry and has been conducting research on the graduate level in the laboratory of Nigel Adams since his freshman year. He has been a summer fellow with UGA’s Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities (CURO), presented his mass spectrometric work at CURO’s undergraduate research symposium and serves as a student representative on the CURO advisory board.
On the national level, Jackson was one of the select few undergraduates to present their work at the national conference of the American Chemical Society and the only undergraduate presenter at the NASA Workshop on Laboratory Astrophysics this spring. He has published articles in the International Journal of Mass Spectrometry and the Journal of Physical Chemistry.
Jackson is involved with Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society, especially through performing experiments for elementary school children and guiding UGA freshmen toward undergraduate research opportunities.
“Doug is a truly outstanding individual and I am pleased that his impressive qualities as a scholar and a person are being recognized at the national level,” said David Williams, director of UGA’s Honors Program, which administers both the Foundation Fellowship and CURO.
The J. Edgar Hoover Foundation is a non-profit organization that was established in 1965 in memory of the long-time FBI director to support law enforcement activities through its scholarship, training, grants and legal education programs. The foundation has awarded approximately $4 million in scholarships since the program was created.
Jackson is the latest student in the Honors Program to win a major award this spring and the only student to earn two during this period. Among the scholarships awarded, four UGA students received Goldwater Scholarships, two won Fulbright teaching awards, one received a Udall Scholarship and another student won a Merage Fellowship.
For more information on the Hoover Foundation Scientific Scholarship, visit http://www.jedgarhooverfoundation.org.
For more information on UGA’s Honors Program, visit http://www.uga.edu/honors.
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