VCU School of Engineering student receives department of defense scholarship

By Makeda Saggau-Sackey
University News Services

A Virginia Commonwealth University School of Engineering student has been awarded a U.S. Department of Defense Science, Mathematics and Research Transformation (SMART) Scholarship.

Jacob Dodson, a mechanical engineering and applied mathematics major, was selected from among more than 600 applicants to receive the highly coveted SMART Defense Scholarship for 2005-2006. Dodson, a rising junior at VCU, impressed the selection committee with a combination of academic excellence, his personal statement and his letters of recommendation.

"I am very excited to be given this opportunity to further my education with this scholarship,” Dodson said. “Receiving support from the government to study engineering is very prestigious, and I am very thankful for the opportunity."

Dodson's sponsorship by the U.S. Air Force’s Office of Scientific Research will include full tuition, required fees, up to a $1,000 book allowance, room and board and other educational expenses for two years at VCU.

Dodson is the vice president of the VCU Crew Club and the scribe of Kappa Gamma chapter of Theta Tau, the professional engineering fraternity.

The SMART scholarship was established by the Ronald Reagan National Defense Authorization Act to promote the education, recruitment and retention of rising junior and senior undergraduate and graduate students in science, mathematics and engineering.

“This is an excellent opportunity for one of our students as he continues his engineering education,” said Mohamed Gad-el-Hak, chair of the VCU School of Engineering’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. “This honor demonstrates the quality of scholarship and research being conducted at VCU.”