March 4, 2012

Elliott Chiu (Biology/Environmental Science, BS/MS ’13, PHC) received the Udall Scholarship a prestigious and highly-competitive award for students committed to careers related to the environment. 

Elliott is an outstanding student in the Biology Department who first started doing research in the STAR program. He has since then started his own research project which is taking him to Equatorial Guinea for the second time. Under the tutelage of Dr. Gail Hearn, he will be conducting research for his thesis on the feeding ecology of an understudied species of chameleon found only on Bioko Island.

After graduating from Drexel, Elliott plans to pursue a VMD/PhD to eventually become a research wildlife veterinarian. He hopes to conserve some of the world’s most troubled species, particularly those that suffer from recent disease epidemics.

Elliott has also been involved with Drexel University Circle K. While serving as Vice President of Service he was able to initiate additional service projects in the Philadelphia area and attract new student members.

Elliott is the first Drexel student to be named a Udall Scholar. Huge congratulations Elliott! 

The Udall Foundation awards about 80 scholarships of up to $5000 to sophomore and junior level college students committed to careers related to the environment, tribal public policy, or Native American health care each year. The Udall Foundation is named after Morris K. Udall who served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 30 years. In 2009, his brother Stewart L. Udall and former Secretary of the Interior was added.