Finn McMichael, a Linfield College sophomore majoring in math and economics from Richland, Wash., has been recognized with two prestigious scholarships.
McMichael has been accepted to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship program and was also selected as an honorable mention for a Barry Goldwater Scholarship.
The NOAA scholarship includes an internship at a NOAA branch in summer 2015. In preparation, McMichael will attend an orientation in Washington, D.C. later this month. The NOAA Holling’s Undergraduate Scholarship is awarded to about 100 students in the United States every year who are majoring and planning to pursue a math or science-based career. The scholarship includes up to $8,000 a year in academic assistance for two years as well as a $650 per week, 10-week internship at a NOAA branch of the student’s choice. The internship provides the scholars with hands-on practical experience in NOAA-related science, research, technology, policy, management and education activities.
McMichael was also selected as honorable mention for a Barry Goldwater Scholarship, sponsored by the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program, and given yearly to up to 300 college sophomores or juniors who plan to pursue careers in science, mathematics or engineering fields. The scholarship and foundation was established in 1986 and named for former United States Senator and 1964 Republican Party presidential candidate Barry M. Goldwater.
McMichael has conducted research at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash., during summer internships in 2012 and 2013. He helped develop flotation devices for “sensor fish” that chart the conditions for juvenile salmon and other fish while traveling through dams on the Snake and Columbia Rivers. He is also a member of the Linfield baseball team.
Following his graduation from Linfield, McMichael plans to attend graduate school in applied mathematics.
