Three MSU students are among the first to be awarded by the Department of Homeland Security's new scholars and fellows program - a program students and faculty say is a never-before-seen attempt to recruit researchers.
"Having those agencies fund students before they begin the forensic science program is very unprecedented," assistant forensic science professor David Foran said. "It's not like our students would ever be funded by the ATF, FBI, DEA or any of these agencies."
The students, graduate students Michael Gehring and Ellyn Schuette and senior Tracy Kamikawa, were part of about 100 students recruited across the nation for their efforts in science and engineering.
"One of the requirements to be eligible for the fellowship was to be willing to seriously consider job offers from the Department of Homeland Security and associated laboratories," Gehring said.
Michelle Petrovich, spokeswoman for the science and technology division at the Department of Homeland Security, said recruiting students is a "dual solution."
"Certainly we'd like to recruit the best and brightest students out there and give them and opportunity to shine and show off their skills from the research that they were able to do on our behalf," Petrovich said, adding that 2,500 students applied for the awards. "We were very encouraged by interest in research done for the Homeland Security Department."
The awards include full tuition for a year or more after renewal, a monthly stipend of $1,000 and internship opportunities.
Schuette said the Homeland Security internship program "opens up more opportunities, more contacts, which is always a good thing." One of the reasons she chose to study at MSU, she said, was a great internship placement program - so she also will investigate options through the university.
But Gehring said the internship opportunities available to the recipients are limited.
"The department will balk at the idea of replacing their internship with any other sort of internship opportunity," said Gehring. "That's one of the catches - that you're willing to give up the choice of internship to do the one they select. But I also think that the funding is fully worth it."
Each student works closely with a professor on their research.
Gehring, working alongside Foran, specializes in pipe bombs. The pair try to identify bomb-builders by finding ways to collect DNA after detonation.
Schuette will work with criminal justice professor Jay Siegel on analyzing and identifying spray paints, creating a database for characterizing and pinpointing sources of them.
Kamikawa is partnered with assistant biosystems engineering professor Evangelyn Alocilja to develop biosensors of diseases that might be used in terrorism.
"She has a lot of potential," she said. "(She's) reliable, dependable in research. She can do research on her own and explore the solution to problems.
"It's MSU's banner that she's carrying."
