May 31, 2001

Bill Jeffs

Release: J01-57

Local Student Named One of Seven NASA College Scholarship Fund Recipients

The objective is to help ensure that a few of today's gifted high school students become some of tomorrow's leading scientists and engineers. That's just what some students, including one from Clear Brook High School, Friendswood, are well on their way toward achieving thanks to some assistance from the NASA College Scholarship Fund, Inc.

Nicholas Singhal, son of NASA Johnson Space Center employee Anil Singhal, has been named one of seven recipients nationwide of this year's NASA College Scholarship Fund. Scholarships were awarded in the amount of $2,000 each. The scholarship is renewable annually for a maximum of $8,000 over six calendar years.

A recent graduate of Clear Brook, Nicholas will attend Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., in the fall. He plans to study biology.

"I am very happy that the NASA College Scholarship Fund chose me for this award," he said. "I will continue to work hard at Washington University and hope to pursue a medical career in the future."

"Nicholas is a very good athlete and actively participated in various extracurricular activities at Clear Brook, but he remained focused on his academic objectives," said Anil Singhal, operations integration manager, International Space Station Avionics and Software Integration Office.

Applications were restricted to dependents of NASA employees who are planning to major in science or engineering. "All NASA centers across the nation were well represented among the candidates with 85 eligible applications received. All had exceedingly high grade point averages, had high Scholastic Aptitude Test scores, and were actively involved in their community," said Karl Schuler, president of the NASA College Scholarship Fund, Inc.

Other winners of this year's NASA College Scholarship Fund are Linda Hung, daughter of Ching-cheh Hung of the Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio; Sarah Zaman, daughter of Dr. Khairul Zaman of the Glenn Research Center; Christopher Malow, son of Deborah Malow of the Glenn Research Center; Bobbie Chern, son of Engmin Chern of the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.; Swati Saini, daughter of Subhash Saini of Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.; and Jyothi Natarajan, daughter of Murali Natarajan of Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va.

"On behalf of the Board, we appreciate all the interest in the NASA College Scholarship Fund," said Greg Hayes, chairman of the Board of Directors. "This scholarship program takes an active interest in our young people and is another way we're promoting higher education across NASA."

The NASA College Scholarship Fund, Inc., a Texas nonprofit corporation, was established to award scholarships agencywide to qualified dependents of NASA and former NASA employees. The fund was established as the direct result of a substantial unsolicited gift by the noted Pulitzer Prize-winning author James A. Michener. Many NASA employees have contributed to the fund directly or through the Combined Federal Campaign. Other major contributors include the Freedom Forum and the JSC Chapter of the NASA Alumni League.

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