Gov. Rounds Announces Scholarships for Underground Science

Press Release

Gov. Rounds Announces Scholarships for Underground Science

Gov. Mike Rounds announced today the names of 10 South Dakota students who will receive special scholarships to study deep science.

The Davis-Bahcall Scholarships for Underground Science by 3M Company will pay tuition and room and board for the students to participate in a summer study program that visits Sanford Laboratory at Homestake in Lead, S.D., Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Italy, and Princeton University in New Jersey.

"This is a unique opportunity for our best and brightest to be actively involved in science," Gov. Rounds said. "This would never happen without the Sanford Lab connections and 3M support."

The laboratory, to be located deep in the former Black Hills gold mine, has the potential for great scientific discoveries, the governor said. It is hoped that the new scholarship program will spark an interest in science among more South Dakota students, Gov. Rounds said.

The program is named in honor of Dr. Ray Davis Jr. and Dr. John Bahcall, whose Nobel Prize- winning experiments into the discovery of neutrinos were conducted at the Homestake Mine.

The annual Davis-Bahcall Scholarships are open to high school seniors and college freshman. The curriculum begins with a visit to the site of the Sanford Lab and the Deep Underground Science & Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL). The studies will continue with deep-science experiments at Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Italy, and conclude at the Physics Department of Princeton University.

Funding for the scholarship program is underwritten by a generous grant from 3M Company.

The initiative was announced last fall at every high school and college in South Dakota. Nearly 90 students applied. The winners were selected on the basis of scholastic scores, involvement in extracurricular activities, essays, support letters and personal interviews

A pilot program for two South Dakota students was completed last summer.

This year's 10 successful scholarship recipients will study a variety of science-related fields, including physics, engineering and geology. They also will interact with distinguished professors from around the world, and the students will receive college credits.

Studies for scholarship recipients will begin July 6 and continue for five weeks.

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