Media Contact: Ron Fisher, Honors College, (517) 355-2326, fisherr1@msu.edu; or Deb Hammacher, University Relations, (517) 355-2281, hammach1@msu.edu

Photo courtesy of the U.S. Embassy in Belize MSU junior Jacob Phelps (center) is congratulated by Lloyd Moss (right), deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Belize and Matthew Miller (left), director of the Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon notified Phelps via telephone that he is a 2006 Truman Scholar. (Hi-res jpg)

The stretch between spring break and commencement can be a long one on university campuses. But this time of year also is award season, and it has been an abundant one for Michigan State.

MSU is proud to be home to a newly minted Truman Scholar, Churchill Scholar and three Goldwater Scholars. In addition, a pair of seniors on the debate team has been crowned national champions after defeating Wake Forest at the National Debate Tournament. The scholarship recipients are all members of MSU’s Honors College.

Below you will find links to these and other stories of Michigan State student achievements. Enjoy.

• Jacob Phelps, a junior from White Lake, Mich. (by way of Escazu, Costa Rica), majoring in environmental studies in Lyman Briggs School of Science and art history in the College of Arts and Letters, was selected as a 2006 Truman Scholar making him the 14th Truman Scholar from MSU. Currently interning at Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary in Belize, Phelps also is an expert on orchids and has presented his research at academic conferences.

• Timothy Howes, a senior from Brighton, Mich., was chosen as one of only 11 U.S. undergraduates to receive a 2006 Churchill Scholarship, making him MSU’s 15th Churchill Scholar. It is doubtful any of his fellow scholars has a closer connection to the program: his great-great-uncle was Churchill’s chauffeur for several years. The elder Howes, Samuel, went on to become an engineer who eventually emigrated to the United States (by way of Canada) and retired in San Diego. Following in the apparent family tradition, Howes is majoring in chemical engineering in the College of Engineering, and already has done research in Hawaii, Japan and Latin America.

• Stuart R. Kaltz, a junior from Lapeer, Mich., has been awarded a Goldwater Scholarship for students in mathematics, science or engineering. Seeing his grandmother walk pain free following her total knee replacement is inspiration to Kaltz, whose recent research focuses on the benefits of using a type of ceramic in artificial bone implants and a chemical coating for orthopedic implants. A materials science and engineering major in the College of Engineering, he plans to pursue a doctorate in biomedical engineering, and conduct orthopedic research with a company or as a university professor.

• Katherine J. Leitch, a sophomore from Rockford, Mich., has been selected for a Goldwater Scholarship. Her love of science that led to a research lab at MSU got its humble beginning while she played in the mud with toads as a child. A major in zoology and neurobiology in the Lyman Briggs School of Science in the College of Natural Science, Leitch has used salamanders to study certain aspects of the olfactory system. She plans to purse a doctorate in neurobiology and immunology, and conduct research and teach at the university level. 

• Anjali Rohatgi, a junior from Novi, Mich., is the recipient of a 2006 Goldwater Scholarship. Some of Rohatgi’s research has dealt with studying genes in mice to understand the role certain cells play in the injury of arteries, and her current work involves testing and evaluating small, organic drug-like molecules that might target the parasite enzymes that cause elephantiasis. She plans to conduct research “at the bedside and bench” to better understand the physiological manifestations of pharmaceuticals at the molecular level. Rohatgi is majoring in biochemistry in the Lyman Briggs School of Science in the College of Natural Science and English in the College of Arts and Letters.   

• For the second time in three years, a team from MSU has been crowned national debate champions. MSU’s top two-person debate team of Ryan Burke and Casey Harrigan won the 60th annual National Debate Tournament. The event was hosted this year by Northwestern University, and the final 6-1 decision over Wake Forest came in around 1:30 a.m. Central time Tuesday, March 28. Both students are senior international relations majors in MSU’s James Madison College. Burke is from Bloomfield Hills, Mich., and Harrigan is from Holland, Mich. For a video clip of the 2004 national debate tournament, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui8XXE1friM