Senior Receives NSF Graduate Fellowship

                Jacob Hooker is a senior graduating this May with a double major in Textile Chemistry and Chemistry.    Jacob has received a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship and he will be attending UC Berkley to study Organic Synthesis.  That’s a long way from Enka High School, near Asheville, where he grew up, but the college has  prepared him well for the challenge that awaits him.

                 While here at the college he worked with Dr. David Hinks and Dr. Harold Freeman as a Research Assistant, and has also worked as a Teaching Assistant for organic chemistry labs .  He has also done research with BASF in Enka, NC.  Since conducting research with these various jobs, Jacob has decided that an advanced degree would allow him  to  pursue a career in academic research.

                So what is a NSF Graduate Fellowship?  It offers recognition and three years of support for advanced study to approximately 900 outstanding graduate students in the mathematical, physical, biological, engineering, and behavioral and social sciences, including the history of science and the philosophy of science, and to research-based PhD degrees in science education.  So, it is quite an honor for Jacob to have received this fellowship.

                Jacob’s goals are to earn a postdoctoral degree and ultimately work in Industrial Research or in Academia as a Research Professor.  Jacob is a good example of the opportunities that are arising for our College of Textiles graduates.