Jackson Co. student at MSU honored by federal research agency

Contact: Sammy McDavid

STARKVILLE, Miss.--A Pascagoula senior who is a member of Mississippi State's Distinguished Scholars Program is receiving a National Science Foundation grant to continue his education.

Chemical engineering major Jared P. Fisher has been accepted into the University of California, Berkeley's graduate program. Scheduled to receive his bachelor's degree in May, he will be attending the nationally ranked Golden State institution on an NSF Integrative Graduate Education and Research traineeship.

Fisher, who was first in his 2002 Pascagoula High School graduating class, also is receiving a Chancellor's Fellowship for Graduate Study, which he won in competition with other students admitted to Berkeley in all departments.

An MSU Presidential Scholar since his freshman year, he is the son of Paul and Terra Fisher. As a Distinguished Scholar Program member, he has attended the land-grant institution with all costs covered for tuition and fees, and room and board over four years.

The National Science Foundation is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 to promote science and education through research programs and education projects. Its IGERT program was developed to help prepare future doctoral scientists and engineers for careers in research and education.

For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.