Students Selected for Inaugural Research Scholarship

Erica Barhorst and Daniel Stroud will each receive $500 to fund their research efforts.

Erica Barhorst

Texas Tech University’s Center for Undergraduate Research has announced Erica Barhorst and Daniel Stroud as the first recipients of the Dr. Sarah Kulkofsky Scholarship for their research efforts in psychology and chemistry, respectively.

The scholarship was created approximately one year ago in remembrance of Sarah Kulkofsky, an assistant professor of Human Development and Family Studies from 2007 until her death in January 2011.

“The scholarship is a way to remember Dr. Kulkofsky, who was such an important contributor to the Texas Tech community,” said Jeannie Diaz, director of the Center for Undergraduate Research. “We’re thrilled to have an opportunity to honor such an esteemed researcher.”

Barhorst and Stroud each will receive $500 to fund their research efforts. Barhorst, a senior majoring in psychology, is conducting research on the spatial memory of dancers. Her faculty mentor is Roman Taraban. Stroud is a senior majoring in chemistry and is conducting research on pericyclic reactions. His faculty mentor is David Birney.

Daniel Stroud

“I am extremely honored to have been chosen as a recipient for the Dr. Sarah Kulkofsky Scholarship,” Barhorst said. “With the aid of this scholarship, I will purchase materials for my experiments and hopefully attend research conferences in the spring. I am grateful for the chance to do so much research as an undergraduate, as it will help to prepare me for graduate school in the coming years.”

Both students will present their research at the Texas Tech Undergraduate Research Conference in April 2013.

“I feel like scholarships such as the Dr. Sarah Kulkofsky Scholarship are impacting,” Stroud said. They encourage students to experience research. The knowledge and hands on skills one gains from research are invaluable regardless of the discipline. Dr. Kulkofsky encouraged research throughout her life, and even with her passing, she still inspires research today through this scholarship.”

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Center for Undergraduate Research

The Center for Undergraduate Research, recently established under the Office of the Provost, seeks to engage the university community in undergraduate research initiatives.

The center provides support and funding for undergraduate students and faculty while developing innovative programs and activities to enhance undergraduate research at the university level and beyond. Undergraduates engaged through the center and its cohorts have the opportunity to apply concepts from their college courses to real life situations in order to further their creative achievement.