S t u d e n t N e w s
Watson Fellow is Best
S
ustainable cities or eco-cities—designed with consideration of minimal environmental impact—have been attempted and are being planned around the world. Robert Best ’10 will soon travel to these communities in Asia, Africa and Europe as a Watson Fellow to seek a better understanding of why some eco-cities thrive and others fail. The $25,000 Thomas J. Watson Foundation fellowship will allow Best, an engineering
major from West Hills, Calif., to spend a year studying the social, economic, cultural and political factors which contribute to the success or failure of sustainability efforts in China, Ireland, the United Arab Emirates, Kenya and the United Kingdom. “As nations seek methods of reducing their environmental impact in accordance
with international treaties, eco-cities are being planned as models for expanded urban sustainability,” he said. “By studying these utopias, I hope to draw broader conclusions about the role of cultural and social interactions on sustainability initiatives.” He is one of 40 students nationwide to receive the fellowship, which the Thomas J.
Watson Foundation awards to college seniors of unusual promise for a year of independent exploration and travel outside the United States. Nearly 1,000 students from up to 40 selective private liberal arts colleges and universities apply for these awards each year. Best says he hopes to identify the most important and infl uential factors that often
contribute to successful eco-city projects. “I want to look at what some of the predictors might be for success or failure of these cities and fi nd out what factors play the most important role in achieving sustainability within cultures.” While at HMC, Best has participated in a myriad of activities. In
January 2009, along with engineering majors Annika Eberle ’09 and Autumn Petros-Good ’09, Best spent 16 days in Kenya, Africa, on an educational mission to share a solar water purifi cation method at the Clay International Secondary School. He is past president of the joint service club Engineers for a Sustainable World and Mudders Organizing for Sustainability Solutions (ESW/MOSS), which received a Student Leadership Award from the Jenzabar Foundation in November 2008 for the Kenya project, for a sustainable agriculture project in Guinea and for its commitment to increasing awareness of environmental issues on the HMC campus. Best has been a member of two Clinic teams. As part
of the Global Clinic team advised by Lisette de Pillis, professor of mathematics and Global Clinic director, and Patrick Little, engineering professor and Engineering Clinic director, Best and two other HMC students met with the president of Iceland last July while in that country participating in the summer school program of the Renewable Energy School based in Akureyri, Iceland. He was also a member of the Clinic team that installed the fi rst solar panels at the Miramar Facility of the Three Valleys Municipal Water District.
Matthew Keeter
Major: Engineering Career Goal: M.S. or Ph.D. in some facet of electrical and computer engineering. Work on cutting-edge research in industry or academia.
Goldwater Scholars
Two juniors have been awarded Goldwater Scholarships by the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation. The scholarships cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year.
Alicia Schep
Major: Chemical Biology Career Goal: Ph.D. in molecular biology. Conduct research in molecular biology and teach at the university level.
S P R I N G 2 0 1 0 H a r v e y Mu d d C o l l e g e 1 1
KEVIN MAPP
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