Dr. VuTran Nominated As SMART Evaluator

Faculty member Dr. Mai Anh VuTran was invited by the administration of the SMART (Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation) scholarship to apply to be an evaluator on September 1, 2022. Sponsored by the Department of Defense (DoD), the SMART scholarship mission is to enhance the DoD Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce. Her outstanding engineering background was the reason behind the invitation. About three months after applying, she was approved to be an evaluator.

The SMART scholarship evaluation period was from January 4 to January 24, 2023. Dr. VuTran’s chemical and environmental engineering background was matched with applicants with a similar background. She was assigned fifteen (15) applicants with whom she realized that the common factor among outstanding STEM students is that their interest started from an early day. “What I learned during the evaluation process is that to be engaged with a STEM-related discipline, these students did get involved with some STEM-related activities from an early age. For example, a few applicants started as early as middle school with some exploration in a chemistry lab.” -Dr. VuTran said.

The Scholarship applicants were from all over the nation. Dr. VuTran received applicants from engineering programs such as MIT, Purdue University, Brigham Young University, Colorado School of Mines, University of Florida, and Florida State University, to name a few. The scholarship evaluation was a valuable experience for Dr. VuTran and she would gladly apply to be an evaluator in the coming years. For further information on different courses available at the College of Business, please email cbt@nsuok.edu.