Furman University has once again been named a Beckman Scholars Program awardee, receiving funds for undergraduate students and their faculty mentors to take a deep dive into biology, chemistry, or a combination of the two.

Since 1999, Furman has received the recognition, which includes funding for students and faculty mentors for laboratory supplies and travel expenses to scientific conferences and meetings. Previous awards funded research into the chemical origins of life, discoveries related to solar energy and bacteria-resistant films to line water pipes.

In the latest round of awards, which are made every three years, Furman will receive support for a cohort of four students and their faculty mentors who will tackle problems in the chemical and life sciences. In May, Furman will name the new crop of students, and they will begin research projects in summer 2021.

“The receipt of our eighth consecutive award is a testament to the accomplishments of the 28 Furman scholars that have participated in the program to date,” says Tim Hanks, the Charles Ezra Daniel Professor and chair of Furman’s chemistry department.

During the last research cycle, which began in 2018, Rachel Cooke ’19, Ariel Gale ’20, Christine Fasana ’22 and Allen Knepper ’22 were named Beckman Scholars.

Rachel Cooke ’19

In Chemistry Professor Greg Springsteen’s lab, Cooke worked toward understanding the origins of life on Earth by exploring reactions that may have been in play in early biological metabolism, those that might have provided the foundation for the evolution of RNA and DNA