Superstar Student Continues to Shine

Mikael (Mik) Minier graduated from Pacific last spring (2010) with a B.S. in Biochemistry, a B.S. Mathematics, and a B.A. in Japanese. He started the Ph.D. program in Chemistry at MIT this past fall, and he was recently awarded a substantial fellowship through the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP).

The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees at accredited U.S. institutions. The GRFP provides three years of support, providing a generous stipend and cost-of-education allowance in addition to other resources.

Mik chose MIT because he would have the opportunity to work with Steve Lippard, one of the world's leading bio-inorganic professors.

In addition to Mik, three other students from Pacific were offered the 2011 GRFP Fellowship:

Cheryl Zurbrick, a graduate student at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her field of study is Geosciences-Chemical Oceanography.

Dustin Dovala '09, a graduate student at University of California, San Francisco. His field of study is Life Sciences-Genetics. 

Liza Boyle, a graduate student at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Her field of study is Mechanical Engineering.

"We are very proud of the accomplishments of these students and the mark they are already making in their fields," said Dr. Edie Sparks, Senior Associate Dean of the College of the Pacific. "The fact that four students from Pacific were awarded this substantial NSF fellowship speaks to the strength of our undergraduate programs."