Donald O. Thompson Graduate Fellowship

Donald O. Thompson was a leader in the development of a science-based approach to the field of nondestructive testing called nondestructive evaluation (NDE). He was the founder of the Review of Progress in Quantitative Nondestructive Evaluation, a meeting attended by researchers, professionals, educators, and students from around the world, and he was the founding director of the Center for NDE at Iowa State University.  

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Graduate Research Fellowship Program was established to provide funding to support professional development for outstanding graduate students, especially women and minorities, pursuing a graduate degree (MS or PhD) in Mechanical Engineering and encourage engineering education as a profession. Because of the highly interdisciplinary nature of the NDE field, the Donald O. Thompson graduate fellowship is open to graduate students in all areas of engineering and science.  The $3,000 amount stipend is reviewed and approved annually by the Nondestructive Evaluation, Diagnostics, and Prognostics Division in cooperation with the ASME Engineering Education Awards Committee.

Donald O. Thompson Graduate Research Fellowship Application 

Fellowship awards in the amount of $3,000 a year are made, for a maximum of two years. Fellows are selected/renewed annually by the ASME Selection Committee. 

Funding is available for the fellow to use for research-related expenses, including equipment purchases, professional travel, professional development courses, trainee support, or any other costs directly related to the fellow’s research. The use of these funds for any other expenses requires pre-approval from ASME.  

Application Deadline: February 28

Grant Announcement: May 

Grant Awarded: July 

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Eligibility 

To be considered for the Thompson fellowship, the following criteria must be satisfied: 

• The Thompson Fellowship is open to Masters and Ph.D. graduate students helping to advance the field by doing research in Nondestructive Evaluation, including techniques such ultrasonics, x-rays, eddy currents, thermography, and microwaves, as well as other NDE methods.  
• Applicant must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and have an undergraduate degree from an ABET accredited program.  

All applications must submit:  Undergraduate accumulative GPA.  Copy of your GRE scores.  Resume or Vitae  Transcripts of all academic work.  Two letters of recommendation from faculty members, especially from M.S. Committee, if appropriate.  Statement about your qualifications, your career goals/plans, and expected outcomes of the fellowship.

 

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Renewal — 2nd Year Review Process 

The Thompson Fellowship may be renewed for a second year though it is not guaranteed. To be eligible, the fellow must submit mid-year and final reports.

The reports, one by the student and one by the Department Head, should be submitted by email to ASME Engineering Education at EngineeringEducation@asme.org, in PDF format, from the Fellowship recipient. The due dates for the reports are due mid-year (October 31) and year-end (April 5), respectivefuly. 

Both reports should address: The student's continued commitment to Nondestructive Evaluation research Confirmation of satisfactory academic progress Research status Fulfillment of research requirements Plans for the second year if requesting a 2nd year of the fellowship.

Current Donald O. Thompson Graduate Fellow

2024

Panayiotis Kousoulas (2024-2025), Rutgers University, New Brunswick, pk538@scarletmail.rutgers.edu

2023

Sarah Malik (2022-24), Drexel University, sm3658@drexel.edu