Meagan Wengrove ‘10, a Ph.D. student in ocean engineering from Arvada, Colorado, has received a prestigious National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Defense. The fellowship provides full funding for up to three years for students pursuing a doctoral degree in one of 15 fields; approximately 200 students are selected.
Wengrove studies with associate professor of mechanical engineering Diane Foster. She will use her NDSEG fellowship to research the effects of extreme weather events on sediment transport, to help understand and better predict what factors influence the rebuilding of ripples, bar features and beaches affected by tsunamis, hurricanes and winter storms.
Wengrove is no stranger to the world of national fellowships. In 2012, after receiving a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and international affairs and a master’s degree in civil engineering, she traveled on a Fulbright grant to the Netherlands to conduct research at Delft University of Technology on flood risk assessment in relation to estuarine inlets. Her dissertation project will involve continued collaboration with Delft University.
On the topic of scholarships, Wengrove preaches a message of persistence. “I hear from too many of my fellow students that they will not apply for fellowships because they think that their academic achievements do not compare to top applicants,” she says. “I ask them, ‘Did you know that I have applied for 12 fellowships, some of them multiple times, and have about a 33 percent success rate?’”
She urges students to seek out opportunities, use the resources available to them and keep trying. “Persistence is just as important as your academic achievements with these fellowships,” Wengrove states. “Have the courage to apply.”
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Written By:
Jeanne Sokolowski | Office of National Fellowships
