UA Scores High in Academics With Two Hollings Scholars

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – UA’s best and brightest students are once again being nationally recognized for their top-notch research. Two UA students will receive the prestigious and highly competitive National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship for 2011-2012. The students are A.J. Collins of Amissville, Va., and Sarah Johnson of Mesquite, Texas.

The scholarship provides $8,000 per year for full-time study during the junior and senior years and $6,500 for a 10-week internship at NOAA or an NOAA-approved facility during the summer between the junior and senior years. The Hollings Scholarship is given in addition to existing awards the student may already receive.

A.J. Collins, a sophomore from Amissville, Va., is double majoring in economics and political science at UA. The recipient of numerous academic honors, he was recently named UA’s Most Outstanding Sophomore for 2011, an award he also received in 2010 as UA’s Most Outstanding Freshman.

He is a member of UA’s Computer-Based, International, and University Honors Programs, was CBHP’s Freshman of the Year and has received an Outstanding Research Award.

Active on campus, he is vice president of member development for Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, vice president of the Honors College Ambassadors, co-director of Alabama Action Abroad, and is a member of the Anderson Society, Cardinal Key and Lambda Sigma. He was also named a Tragos Scholar, an award given to the top 16 members of SPE each year for travel to Greece in order to learn about the historical and philosophical foundations of Greek life.

His academic research has focused on testing the Olson Paradox, looking at whether group size has an effect on resource production and allocation. He plans to attend graduate school to pursue a doctorate in economics with future plans to work for the federal government or a private corporation.

Sarah Johnson, a sophomore from Mesquite, Texas, is majoring in mechanical engineering with a minor in the Computer-Based Honors Program at the Capstone. She was recently awarded the Emerging Leader Award by UA’s chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. In 2010 and 2011, Johnson was honored as UA’s Mechanical Engineering Outstanding Freshman and Sophomore, respectively.

During summer 2010, she completed an internship with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 6 Headquarters in Dallas, where she designed a database and web interface that allowed simultaneous collaboration from across the various region divisions in regard to the Performance Activity Measures upon which the success or failure of a division is measured each year.

She is involved in multiple engineering organizations, including serving as secretary of the Society of Women Engineers and treasurer of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for the upcoming academic year. She is also a member of the Academic Honor Council, where she serves as chief justice elect of the College of Engineering Honor Council.

Johnson’s undergraduate research is focused on testing the efficiency of alcohol based fuels and developing methods to improve their startability and efficiency. Upon graduation, her goals include earning a master’s and later a doctorate in mechanical or aerospace engineering.

The Hollings Scholarship Program is designed to improve undergraduate training in oceanic and atmospheric science, research technology, and natural resource education; increase public understanding of the importance of stewardship of the environment; and improve scientific and environmental education in the U.S.