Power and Energy Scholarship recognizes 8 ASU engineering students

Eight Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering students with a passion for sustainable power and energy were selected from a pool of 548 applicants to receive the IEEE Power and Energy Society scholarship.

In the past seven years, 37 of these scholarships have been awarded to Arizona State University students — earning ASU more Power and Energy Society scholarships than any other university in the awards’ lifetime.

The Power and Energy Society (PES) scholarship recognizes undergraduate electrical engineering students with strong GPAs, distinctive extracurricular activities and a commitment to exploring the power and energy field.

“These two awards are national awards that are highly competitive,” said Gerald Heydt, Regents' Professor at the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering. “The students recognized will carry this honor throughout their careers, and there is no doubt that the recognition marks a high point in their work.”

The competitive selection process, from which less than 40 percent of the applicants are selected, requires students to submit essays and letters of recommendation, and judges look for a student’s passion about advancing power research. This year, the award granted the 210 recipients a financial award to fund their studies, one year of IEEE PES student membership and the opportunity to be mentored by leading professionals in their industry.

“Besides the generous financial support, I received recognition from the largest power engineering networking and standards group in the world,” said Tobin Meyers, a recipient of the scholarship. “This advantage helped me advance my knowledge of power systems by assisting with my internship search and an all-expenses-paid trip to Boston for the 2017 IEEE PES Student Congress.”

While at the student congress, recipients had the opportunity to network with peers and professionals, visit MIT’s nuclear reactor and tour the headquarters of Doble, a power test company. Meyers’ initial recognition paved the way for two summer internships with Arizona Public Service, which served as a career experience needed to renew the award.

From the initial group of PES scholars, industry professionals and Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories select the Schweitzer Meritorious Scholars. These awardees, three of whom this year are students in the Fulton Schools, gain additional recognition for their academic excellence and interest in the field.

"In my application, I talked about the growing importance of renewable energy and how that led me to pursue a career at the intersection of electrical engineering and sustainability,” said Brian Wu, a 2018 PES and Schweitzer Scholar. “It’s all about how you tie your extracurriculars or work experience into what makes you passionate about power and energy.”

IEEE, or the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, is the world’s largest association of technical professionals. PES scholarships are made possible due to the generous donations of individuals and corporations to the IEEE Power & Energy Society Scholarship Fund of the IEEE Foundation.

For any electrical engineering students considering applying for the scholarship, Meyers, a three-time recipient, encourages them to apply.

“Power has been stagnant for many years, but with the increasing popularity of renewable energy, the traditional grid has evolved into a complex system,” Meyers said. “This award will help you get recognized so you can begin solving these issues as well as help fund the remainder of your education.”