Wheaton student wins Fulbright to study in New Zealand
April 23, 2001
Susan Habas, a Wheaton senior majoring in biochemistry, has been awarded a highly competitive New Zealand Fulbright scholarship for chemistry research next year. Habas will use her Fulbright award to study at New Zealand's Massey University. Only 10 students are selected each year for Fulbright-funded study in New Zealand. Four other Wheaton scholars have been honored with other Fulbright awards to this year, and Wheaton students also have been awarded both the Rhodes and British Marshall Scholarships.
A resident of Ogunquit, Maine, Habas will research the synthesis of porphyrin, or chlorophyll, while in New Zealand, an area of chemical research that combines organic chemistry and biology with the aims of understanding the ways that nature captures and utilizes light. The knowledge gained from this research has practical applications in cancer therapy and the development of an alternative source of energy. When her nine-month Fulbright is completed, Habas plans to complete a doctorate in the study of porphyrins either at Massey University or in the U.S.
"One simple molecule, the porphyrin, may hold answers to some of the most pressing problems of our time, including the need for alternative sources of energy and a new line of defense against cancer," Habas wrote in her Fulbright application. "Environmental and medical issues transcend international boundaries and affect each one of us, so it should be one of our first and foremost goals to combine our efforts and form multi-national collaborations to solve these problems."
Habas has enjoyed a successful career as one of Wheaton's premier scholars. In addition to receiving the college's highest academic honors as a Balfour Scholar, Presidential Scholar, Dean's List and Phi Beta Kappa, she was a recipient of the Seaborg Fellowship for Actinide Chemistry, awarded to only 6 students nationally. She is a member of the American Chemical Society Student Affiliates and of the Beta Beta Beta Biological Honor Society. She has worked as an undergraduate researcher at the prestigious Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, NM, and as part of Wheaton's angiogenesis research team.
The Fulbright Program was created in 1946 to foster mutual understanding among nations through educational and cultural exchanges. Senator J. William Fulbright, sponsor of the legislation supporting the program, saw it as a step toward building an alternative to armed conflict. Today the Fulbright Program is the U.S. Government's premier scholarship program, enabling U.S. students, artists and other professionals to benefit from unique resources in every corner of the world. The Fulbright Program is funded by an annual congressional appropriation and contributions from other participating countries.
Wheaton, located in Norton, Mass., is a selective college of the liberal arts and sciences with a student body of 1,500. It is a member of the Twelve College Exchange, which also includes Amherst, Bowdoin, Dartmouth, Mount Holyoke, Smith, Wellesley and Wesleyan.
Last updated on 4/25/01.
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