Ohio Soybean Council Foundation
Scholarship Program
Congratulations to the 2013 State Science Day Winners!
Mikhaila R. Roe, Minford, Ohio, grade 10
Project: From fields to fuel: Will charcoal made from soy plants and corn stalks perform as efficiently as commercial charcoal?
Ashley N. Scruse,Springfield, Ohio, grade 12
Project: Which catalyst will yield the most efficient biofuel from soybean oil?
Jacob C. Dennis, Pettisville,Ohio, grade 8
Project: The effect of row spacing on Glycine max
2013-2014 Undergraduate Winners
Mike Hannewald of Waterville, Ohio, is majoring in sustainable plant systems with a concentration in the area of agronomy at The Ohio State University (OSU) and will be a senior in the fall of 2013. Mike is active in the OSU College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) where he serves as a campus ambassador. He completed an internship with Beck’s Hybrids in the summer of 2012 and has been very active in the Ohio FFA where he served on the National FFA Officer Nominating Committee. Mike plans to pursue a career in agriculture, an industry that has become his passion.
Emily Limes of Bowling Green, Ohio, is majoring in agribusiness and applied economics with a concentration in the area of production agriculture at OSU and will be a senior in the fall of 2013. Emily was recently selected as president of the Buckeye Livestock Judging Club and is an active member of Saddle and Sirloin Club and Collegiate Young Farmers. She will be completing an internship in the summer of 2013 with Dow AgroSciences and plans to pursue a career in agriculture which has been rooted in her family traditions for four generations.
Shelby Mann of Jackson Center, Ohio, is majoring in agriculture with a concentration in the area of agronomy at Wilmington College and will be a junior in the fall of 2013. Shelby is currently a member of Aggies, Delta Theta Sigma Lil Sis sorority, Agronomy Club and Collegiate 4-H. Shelby completed an internship with AgriGold Hybrids and worked as a crop scout for Performance Ag, LLC. She plans to work for Beck’s Hybrids as a crop scout in the summer of 2013. Shelby aspires to own a crop consulting business to benefit soybean producers.
John Schoenhals of Archbold, Ohio, is majoring in plant pathology with a concentration in the area of field crops at OSU and will be a senior in the fall of 2013. John remains active at OSU as a member of PHARM club, Collegiate Young Farmers, Alive ministry and attended the Agriculture Future of America Leaders conference in Kansas City, MO. He is currently working in the plant pathology laboratory at OSU and has also secured an internship with AgriGold Hybrids for the summer of 2013.
Stacie Seger of Fort Loramie, Ohio, is majoring in agricultural communications with a concentration in the area of broadcasting and journalism at OSU and will be a junior in the fall of 2013. Stacie is a member of the Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow, Saddle and Sirloin Club and also represents the OSU CFAES as a campus ambassador. She will intern with Ohio Ag Net this summer and has studied abroad in Ecuador, Ireland and Brazil. Stacie would like to work in a career educating the public and farmers about the soybean industry and the great advances being made.
Stephanie Verhoff of Columbus Grove, Ohio, is majoring in sustainable plant systems with a concentration in agronomy at OSU and will be a senior in the fall of 2013. This summer she will work as an undergraduate research assistant in the department of horticulture and crop science at OSU. She is involved in many activities at OSU including Alpha Zeta, serving as a student ambassador, and Scarlet and Gray Ag Day. Stephanie aspires to work in the agriculture field in the area of plant research.
2013-2014 Graduate Winners
Rhiannon Schneider of Grafton, Ohio, is pursuing a master’s degree in crop breeding and genetics at OSU. She currently performs research in the soybean breeding and soybean pathology labs. Rhiannon is conducting research to increase soybean yields through the improvement of gene resistance to pests, diseases, and other environmental factors.
Nicholas Callow of Girard, Ohio, is pursuing a doctorate of engineering in chemical engineering at the University of Akron. He is a graduate assistant conducting research to produce low cost enzymes for use in making high-value soy products. The utilization of these enzymes, through the application of cost improving pellet technology, will improve and diversify the soybean industry.
Program Overview
This is the sixth year for the OSCF Scholarship Program, which was created to encourage undergraduate students to pursue careers in agriculture, as well as to support ongoing graduate-level research. All OSCF scholarships are awarded on a competitive basis to full-time students enrolled at an Ohio college or university.
Three undergraduate scholarships of up to $3,000 each will be awarded, and one $3,000 Farmer, Lumpe and McClelland Excellence in Communications Scholarship, which was founded to provide resources to young people with a passion for agricultural or business communications. Also available to one undergraduate student is a $5,000 Bhima Vijayendran Scholarship, named to honor Dr. Vijayendran’s contributions to the soybean industry through his scientific research and commercialization activities at Battelle.
Undergraduate student applicants must be Ohio residents, enrolled as full-time students at an Ohio college or university, with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher in his or her major field, and having attained at least sophomore status by the fall of the year of application. Eligible majors include biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, biotechnology, bioenergy, biofuels, crop science, food science, agricultural communications, agricultural business, bioengineering, chemical engineering or a related field. Applicants must also demonstrate the desire to pursue a career related to the soybean industry and/or agriculture.
Two scholarships of up to $5,000 each are available to students who are enrolled as full-time graduate students in an Ohio college or university. Applicants must be conducting research in bioproducts, biobased materials, bioengineering, biotechnology, biopolymers or a related field, and focused on advancing the soybean industry. Graduate applicants must have proof of legal residency in the United States.
OSCF scholarship funds will be paid directly to the educational institution and are to be used directly for tuition, fees, lab fees and books. Scholarships are not renewable, although recipients may reapply. Scholarships are awarded competitively based on merit, and on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, age, gender, disability, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, military or veteran status.
For more information, contact Tom Fontana at tfontana@soyohio.org or Katie Bauer at kbauer@soyohio.org
Bhima Vijayendran Scholarship
The Bhima Vijayendran Scholarship is designed to encourage students at Ohio colleges and universities to pursue majors that will lead to future innovations in biobased materials and their commercialization. For the 2012-2013 academic year, this scholarship was awarded to Stephanie Verhoff of Ohio State Univeristy.
Established in 2009, the Bhima Vijayendran Scholarship was named in honor of Dr. Vijayendran's (pictured to the left) contributions to the soybean industry, through his scientific research and commercialization activities at Battelle.
As part of a partnership between the Ohio Soybean Council and Battelle, Dr. Vijayendran's team at Battelle has conducted research that has led to significant discoveries of new industrial uses for soybeans, including soy-based toners, powder coatings,polyols and plasticizers, all of which have been licensed and are in the process of being commercialized.
These innovations have generated national and worldwide attention, including five R&D 100 awards, European Plastics Award, Society of Plastic Engineers Sustainability Award, United Soybean Board Industrial Products Award and the 2008 U.S. Presidential Green Chemistry Award. Without Dr. Vijayendran's work, this success would not have been possible.
In addition, Dr. Vijayendran was named the 2009 winner of the American Soybean Association's Special Meritorious Award and the United Soybean Board's Outstanding Achievement Award. Both are the highest awards available from these organizations.
In 2009, Battelle contributed $50,000 toward building an endowment in support of this scholarship. This amount was matched by OSCF.
