Doctorate students Brandon Cochenour and William Cox have both been awarded American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Fellowships.

Brandon Cochenour has been awarded the Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship.

Brandon is currently an Electrical Engineer with the Department of Defense, and has been employed by the Navy at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station since 2004. There, he has been involved in the research and development of next generation laser-radar systems using novel RF-photonic techniques for laser imaging and communication systems underwater. In 2006, he was awarded first place in the graduate student poster/paper competition at the IEEE Ocean Engineering Society conference for his work in underwater optical communications. He was awarded as a Top Navy Scientist and Engineer of the Year in the Emerging Investigator category, which was presented by the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for R&D in 2007.

Under the SMART fellowship, Brandon will pursue Ph.D. studies in Electrical Engineering this Fall at North Carolina State University, where he plans to focus on optical communications and RF-photonics. He received the B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Lafayette College in Easton, PA (2003), and the M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD (2008).

The SMART fellowship is a highly competitive program established by the Department of Defense (DoD) to support undergraduate and graduate studies in the Science and Engineering disciplines in return for future service in a DoD laboratory. This year, approximately 200 scientists and engineers received the SMART award out of over 2,000 applicants.

William Cox has been awarded the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship.

William earned his BS and MS degree in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina State University in 2006 and 2007 respectively. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at NC State University under the direction of Dr. John Muth, in the area of underwater freespace optical communications. He is a founding member of the Underwater Robotics Club and writes about robotics at GoRobotics.net.

The NDSEG fellowship was created as a means of increasing the number of U.S. citizens and nationals trained in science and engineering disciplines of military importance.  The Department of Defense (DoD) plans to award approximately 200 new three-year graduate fellowships in April 2009.  The DoD will offer these fellowships to individuals who have demonstrated ability and special aptitude for advanced training in science and engineering.

Founded in 1893, the American Society for Engineering Education is a nonprofit organization of individuals and institutions committed to furthering education in engineering and engineering technology.