BS student Alexander McBride has been awarded a 2016 Udall Undergraduate Scholarship. Alex is the third Udall Scholar from Drexel ever to receive the honor and one of just 60 students selected nationwide from a pool of 482 applicants nominated by 227 colleges and universities.
Sponsored by the Udall Foundation, the Udall Undergraduate Scholarship is awarded to college juniors and sophomores “for leadership, public service, and commitment to issues related to American Indian nations or to the environment.”
Selected as an environmental scholar, Alex’s goal is to accelerate the global transition towards more sustainable and environmentally friendly practices in the areas of electronic device production and energy generation. His research work and interest is focused on photonics, used in laptops, phone and TV displays, solar cells, and LEDs.
Alex has conducted research work on solar cells in Dr. Caroline Schauer’s lab and on supercapacitors with Dr. Yury Gogotsi’s group. He is currently on co-op at Merck KGaA in Darmstadt, Germany, working on organic light emitting diode (OLED) materials for display applications as used in smartphones and monitor displays. Previously he has conducted research with the Institute for New Materials in Germany through the iSTAR program and the University of Oulu in Finland as a Paul Peck Scholar, as well as industry research with the KieranTimberlake Research Group. Alex was previously the President of both Drexel Smart House and Drexel Students for Christ.
The Udall Scholarship provides up to $7,000 towards academic expenses and networking opportunities through a Scholar Orientation and the Udall Alumni Network. For more information about applying for the Udall Scholarship at Drexel, please visit http://drexel.edu/fellowships/search/fellowships/Udall_Scholarship/ or contact Dr. Meredith Wooten, Director, Drexel Fellowships Office.