Inaugural Belinda and Chip Blankenship UG scholarship awarded to Elise Poerschke

Elise Poerschke (Engr. Sci. ’15) has been selected as the first recipient of the Belinda and Chip Blankenship Scholarship.  Elise has been researching high temperature reactions in Professor Beth Opila’s lab. She will present her research at the MS&T Conference in Pittsburgh this coming fall and is preparing a manuscript for the Journal of the American Ceramic Society.

Elise Poerschke receiving the Belinda and Chip Blankenship

Undergraduate Scholarship for materials science from MSE department chair Bill Johnson

The scholarship was made possible thanks to support from Belinda and Chip Blankenship. Chip is a 1992 MSE Ph.D. alumnus who now serves as president and CEO of GE Appliances in Louisville, KY.  The scholarship was established to advance engineering education and support the United States’ manufacturing, R&D and competitive capability. The award encourages and assists U.Va. undergraduate students to pursue graduate studies in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

Congratulations to Elise who was an excellent candidate for the first award.