Harold Owens, III, a senior chemistry major at Jackson State University, has been notified he has been accepted into the University of Michigan’s Chemical Engineering Ph.D. Program for Fall 2015.
That’s great news for Owens, and it’s sweetened by the fact that he was also awarded a fellowship totaling more than $42,000 per year for up to five years to cover stipend, tuition and health insurance.
“I’m really excited. It’s a new step from undergraduate school,” said Owens, 21, an Indianapolis, Ind., native.
He said, since he received word of the acceptance into the Michigan program last week, he has been “just trying to get ready, mentally and physically.”
“Harold is an outstanding student at JSU and has won numerous accolades,” says Dr. Jacqueline J. Stevens, associate professor of Biology. “It was not a surprise to me that he was accepted in this program with many more acceptances to come, I am sure.”
Owens is a MARC Scholar, said Stevens, who is director of JSU’s Maximizing Access to Research Careers, or MARC, program.
The goal of the program is to enhance the academic preparation and research training of underrepresented students who inspire to enter and earn Ph.D. degrees or combined M.D.-Ph.D. programs in biomedical and behavioral sciences.
Owens credited Dr. Hongtao Yu, chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, for steering him toward the MARC program. He said he’s especially grateful for Stevens “who got me into the program,” and for Associate Chemistry Professor Dr. Alamgir Hossain, who is his principal investigator in research projects.
“It really prepared me for this opportunity,” Owens said.
The MARC trainees must be honors students majoring in the sciences who have an expressed interest in a biomedical research career and who intend to pursue postgraduate work leading to a Ph.D., M.D.-Ph.D., or other combined professional degree-Ph.D.
“We appreciate his dedication and hard work in representing Jackson State University, the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department and the MARC Program,” Stevens said.
For more on the MARC program, see: https://www.jsums.edu/csetsss/marc/