NOAA SEEKS APPLICANTS FOR THE
2007 ERNEST F. HOLLINGS UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
Up to $29,000 Available to Each Student for Studies and Internships

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is accepting applications for a scholarship program in honor of retired South Carolina senator Ernest F. Hollings, who promoted ocean and atmospheric study and research throughout his career. This is the third year the scholarship is being made available to students interested in pursuing degrees in ocean and atmospheric sciences and education.

The 2007 NOAA Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship Program will provide approximately 100 college undergraduates up to $29,000 to further their academic studies related to NOAA science, research, technology, policy, management, and education activities; and to offer a related summer internship designed to provide “hands-on” multi-disciplinary training. Applications will be accepted through February 9, 2007.

The Hollings scholarship will provide selected undergraduate students with academic assistance for full-time study during their junior and senior years (up to a maximum of $8,000 per academic year); a 10-week, full-time summer NOAA internship position paying $650 a week; a housing subsidy for scholars who do not live at home during their internship; and travel expenses to a mandatory Hollings Scholarship Program orientation and conference at the beginning and end of the internship.

“Fostering interest in environmental literacy is a vital issue to Senator Hollings and to all of us at NOAA,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “We are proud to administer the Hollings Scholarship Program, which is designed to increase undergraduate training in oceanic and atmospheric science, research, technology and education. The students who receive this award may someday become our next generation of teachers, oceanographers, marine biologists, or climate scientists.”

In support of these efforts, Hollings scholars will be selected from applicants majoring in a broad range of disciplines including biological, physical, and social sciences; mathematics; engineering; computer and information sciences; and teacher education.

“The Hollings Scholarship Program expands and supports NOAA’s commitment for more than 35 years to enhance economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and provide environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources,” said Louisa Koch, director, NOAA Education. “The program is part of a larger effort to enhance NOAA’s strategic efforts to promote environmental literacy and ensure a future, world-class workforce to assist the agency in fulfilling its mission.”

Applications for the Hollings Scholarship Program are available online at: http://www.oesd.noaa.gov. Additional information is available by e-mail at StudentScholarshipPrograms@noaa.gov or by mailing:

In 2007 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, celebrates 200 years of science and service to the nation. From the establishment of the Survey of the Coast in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson to the formation of the Weather Bureau and the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries in the 1870s, much of America's scientific heritage is rooted in NOAA.

The agency is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 60 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.

On the Web:

NOAA: http://www.noaa.gov

NOAA’s Office of Education: http://www.oesd.noaa.gov/