K-State Physics Graduate Student is One of Three KSU 2009 Fulbright U.S. Student ScholarsK-State Physics Graduate Student is One of Three KSU 2009 Fulbright U.S. Student Scholars
Nora Johnson of Dell Rapids, SD, is one of three Kansas State University students
who won a 2009 Fulbright
U.S. Student scholarships for travels abroad. Nora received a one-year
fellowship. She is among more than
1,500 U.S. citizens who are traveling abroad for the 2009-2010 academic year
through the Fulbright program.
K-State now has had 50 Fulbright student scholars since 1975.
"I admire all of these students for choosing to step
outside their comfort zone in order to learn and live in an international
setting next year," said Jim Hohenbary, K-State assistant dean for nationally
competitive scholarships. "I know they will do a great job in making connections
and building goodwill between their host countries and the United States, and it
is exciting to think that K-State is going to be represented in Germany."
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers fellowships for
study abroad, research abroad or English teaching assistantships. The program
aims to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States
and the people of other countries. Recipients are selected on the basis of
academic or professional achievement as well as leadership potential. The
Fulbright program was established under legislation introduced by late Sen. J.
William Fulbright of Arkansas and is administered by the Institute of
International Education.
Johnson is a graduate student in atomic, molecular and optical
physics. She is using the Fulbright Scholarship to study laser-molecule
interaction in Germany. Johnson works with Itzik Ben-Ithzak, K-State professor
of physics, in a research group studying molecular physics. She has co-authored
numerous publications that have appeared in journals such as Physics Review A
and the Review of Scientific Instruments.
Johnson would like a career in an academic setting with an even workload of research and teaching duties. She graduated from Augustana College, Sioux Falls, S.D., with a bachelor's in chemistry and mathematics in 2005. At K-State, she has received the Timothy R. Donoghue scholarship. Johnson is a member of the Manhattan Ultimate Summer League, the Graduate Physics Student Association and the American Physics Society. A 2001 graduate of Flandreau Public High School, Flandreau, S.D., she is the daughter of Lawrence and Diane Johnson, Dell Rapids, S.D.
Courtesy of K-State Media Relations
