August 28, 2012 - Sixteen geology and mathematics majors at California State University, Bakersfield are receiving a total of more than $250,000 in scholarships and fellowships for the 2012-13 academic year to participate in scientific research related to water and energy resources. The CSUB Center for Research and Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST), housed in the Department of Geological Sciences, is awarding funds to student researchers thanks to grants from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The students will receive funds ranging from $30,000 to $3,000. In addition to being paid for research activities, each student will receive support to travel to a professional conference to present their research results.

"These fellowships are in line with the research assistantships that graduate students receive at major research institutions," said Dr. Rob Negrini, professor of geology at CSUB. "The support allows the students to remain engaged in scholarly pursuits rather than work off-campus jobs that may not relate to their majors. This, in turn, allows them to do better in their classes, graduate in a more timely manner, and be better prepared to enter the workforce or continue on to doctoral programs."

The National Science Foundation awarded a five-year, $5 million grant to CSUB in 2011 to establish CREST, which focuses on research topics important to the economic future of the San Joaquin Valley's agriculture and petroleum industries. The research includes projecting the timing and amount of water resources delivered to the valley from the Sierra Nevada over the next several decades, and geological site characterization for potential underground carbon storage facilities.

CSUB's Department of Geological Sciences continually places graduates in jobs in the petroleum and water resources fields. Over the past two years, nearly 100 percent of majors have found employment in these fields at starting salaries as high as six figures, according to Negrini.

The 2012-13 student research fellows are:
Graduate students receiving $30,000: Ashleigh Blunt, Jon Goodell, Lindsey Medina, Greg Thompson, and John Wilson.
Undergraduates receiving $20,000: Martin Jimenez, Victoria Miller, Cristina Rivas, and Nehemias Ulloa.
Students receiving $3,000: Emmanuel Garcia, Phillip Herrera, James Lopez, Esteban Macias, Kelsey Padilla, Azael Salinas, and Amber Tedrow.

For more information about CREST, contact Dr. Robert Negrini at 661-654-2185 or rnegrini@csub.edu.