NSF GRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS AWARDED TO FOUR STUDENTS, ONE ALUMNA

   COLUMBUS -- The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Graduate Research Fellowships to four Ohio State University students and one Ohio State alumna.

   "National awards such as these indicate that students who pursue a challenging program at Ohio State and who perform at the highest level are among the most promising young scholars in their fields," said John D. Wanzer, assistant dean in the Colleges of the Arts and Sciences.

   NSF fellowships, intended for students at or near the beginning of their graduate study, are awarded to students pursuing research-based master's or doctoral degrees in the fields of science, mathematics and engineering. The fellowship stipend during 1999-2000 is $15,000 plus a cost-of-education allowance of $10,500 per year and is renewable for up to three years during a five-year period.

   The following students provided information for release: James Baumgardner II, Benjamin Gelbart and Alycia Stigall, all seniors.

   Baumgardner is a physics major with a specialization in condensed matter experiment. He has been working with superconductors, materials that have zero resistance at low temperatures, with Thomas Lemberger, professor of physics. After graduation, he will study physics at Harvard University. Baumgardner, a 1995 graduate of Thomas Worthington High School, is the son of James and Patricia Baumgardner, 358 Lambourne Ave., WORTHINGTON.

   Gelbart, a linguistics major, has been working on the alternation and nonalternation of stops and fricatives in modern Hebrew with Brian Joseph, professor and department chair, and David Odden, associate professor, both in the Department of Linguistics. After graduation, he plans to continue research into phonology, morphology, historical linguistics, Baltic, Slavic and Semitic languages at University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Gelbart is the son of Steve and Mary Gelbart of Rehovot, Israel.

   Stigall, a geological sciences and biology major, has been working out some evolutionary questions that concern crayfish with Loren E. Babcock, associate professor of geological sciences, for her honors senior thesis, The Phylogeny of Freshwater Crayfish. After graduation, she will attend the University of Kansas, studying paleontology, and specifically arthropod evolution, in the geology department. Stigall, a 1995 graduate of Colerain High School in Cincinnati, is the daughter of Joe and Jacqueline Stigall, 5305 Edger Drive, CINCINNATI.

   Teresa Hart, a student in the College of Engineering, and Ohio State alumna Jennifer Russell also received fellowships.

Contact: John D. Wanzer, assistant dean in the Colleges of the Arts and Sciences, (614) 292-5104