By: Benjamin Lerner

For Timothy Deppen, The 2007 winner of the $10,000 Kenneth Andrew Roe Scholarship, it was not easy to get to the top of the class. He started his education in a special school district due to severe hearing loss in his left ear and moderate hearing loss in his right ear.  With additional help in reading, writing, and speaking, Tim was able to attend regular classes by fifth grade and eventually graduate as valedictorian of his high school class.  As a college student, he has been recognized as one of the top 100 seniors and the top mechanical engineering senior at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a university with over 31,000 undergraduate students and 800 mechanical engineering students. Tim plans to use his scholarship award to pursue his graduate degree and continue his robotics research.

Shaan Polius, the 2007 recipient of the $2,000 Frank and Faye Masino Scholarship, had a long journey to the City College of New York (CCNY). A native of St. Lucia, Shaan began her college education at Sir Arthur Lewis Community College in St. Lucia where she studied mathematics, physics, and chemistry for two years.  After completing her courses, she taught high school science and chemistry in St. Lucia for three years until she saved enough money to continue her education. As a senior mechanical engineering student at CCNY, Shaan is on the dean’s list and is the external vice president for the university’s National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) chapter. She has also had two research internships at the Center for High Rate Nanomanufacturing at the University of Massachusetts Lowell in summer 2006, and at Northeastern University in summer 2007.  Both internships were focused on her research on the assembly and transfer of nanoparticles for future use in electronics.

Eduardo Navarette Tolento, a winner of the $1,500 ASME Foundation Scholarship, is a student at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Eduardo is interested in continuing his research in water purification and desalination technologies, and plans to use the money to study for a graduate degree abroad.  He as been , he became an ASME member, and one year later he was elected the treasurer of the student section at UNAM. Besides its treasurer activities, he participated in the IMPULSA project, which is a multidisciplinary research team focused on researching in desalination techniques using renewable energies, and in the development of engineering solutions applied to specific zones in México.



Martin Nolan, a student at the City College of New York, is another recipient of the ASME Foundation Scholarship.  He holds a M.S. in finance and a B.S. in international business, and decided to return to school after many successful years of working in order to pursue his passion for engineering.  Martin hopes to make an impact in the field of alternative fuels, and has already made a difference by taking a leadership role in building a water purification and distribution system for a mountainous village in northern Honduras through Engineers without Borders.

Samuel Brinton of Kansas State University received the $1,500 John and Elsa Gracik Scholarship.  Brinton is a double major studying both mechanical engineering and vocal performance.  His achievements in mechanical engineering include presenting a paper at the 15th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering in Nagoya, Japan as a freshman; he was the youngest presenter at the conference and plans to use the scholarship to continue his research.

For a complete list of all the 2007 ASME Scholarship winners visit:
www.asme.org/Education/College/FinancialAid/2007_Scholarship_Winners.cfm

Each year, ASME awards over $100,000 in academic scholarships to student members to assist them in completing their mechanical engineering education.  Scholarships are available for all students, from incoming freshmen to those seeking a graduate degree.  The scholarships range from $1,000 to $10,000, with over 60 awarded annually.  Visit the the  2008 ASME Scholarship page to for complete details. The application will be available on February 1, 2008 and are due by March 15, 2008. Students will complete one online application, and will be considered for all scholarships for which they qualify. 

ASME also offers additional financial aid opportunities for Student Members:

• ASME Student Loan program: Application Deadline October 15th  and April 15th (for current undergraduate and graduate students)
• Auxiliary Scholarship program: Application Deadline March 15th (for current undergraduate and graduate students)
• Auxiliary Student Loans: No Deadline (for current undergraduate and graduate students)
• The ASME Foundation-ASME Auxiliary FIRST Clarke Scholarship: Application Deadline March 15th (for current high school seniors active on a FIRST Robotics Team)