Penn students and alumni have been on an award tour lately, picking up a number of fellowships and scholarships enabling them to further their scholarship here and around the world.  

The University’s Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CURF) has played an integral part in helping undergraduates, grad students, and alumni locate and apply for research grants and competitive scholarships.

Harriet Joseph, director of CURF, says the Center strives to help students who are interested in research find opportunities, fellowships, and funding resources. “Our role is to guide,” she says. “The students come in as great candidates, and we help them navigate the application process.”

Alumnae Aimee Bailey, School of Engineering and Applied Science ‘06, and Abigail Seldin, School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) ‘09, have been named recipients of fellowships in the Luce Scholars Program. Penn is the only university to have two representatives selected for the honor. Established by the Henry Luce Foundation in 1974 to enhance understanding of Asia among potential leaders in the United States, the Luce Scholars Program is a nationally competitive fellowship program that provides stipends, language training, and individualized professional placement in Asia for 15 to 18 scholars each year.

Seven Penn seniors—Besan Abu-Joudeh, a statistics and international studies major; David Dunning, an English and mathematics major; Alison Feder, a mathematics major; Myles Karp, an anthropology major; Michael Masciandaro, a history and English major; Eliana Ritts, majoring in business and public policy and international studies; and Katie Wynbrandt, majoring in political science and English—have been selected as 2012 Thouron Award winners, along with Penn alumna Ava Childers who graduated in 2010. The honorees will pursue graduate studies in the United Kingdom.

The Thouron Award, a graduate exchange program between British universities and Penn, was conceived to reinforce the “special relationship” between the United States and the United Kingdom. Students receive full support—tuition and generous stipends—to pursue graduate degrees of their choice, and are encouraged to travel and immerse themselves in the life of their host countries.

Eileen Moison, a senior in SAS, will also travel to Great Britain through the Gates Cambridge Scholarship. She will spend at least one year at Cambridge University as one of 40 U.S. students awarded scholarships this year.