Sonny and Gita Ramaswamy Scholarship

MS or PhD Award (~$200-1,000 Scholarship)

This award was established by Drs. Sonny and Gita Ramaswamy (pictured, Gita on the left and Sonny on the right). Dr. Sonny Ramaswamy was appointed by President Barack Obama to head the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, which supports research, extension, and education efforts in the food, agricultural, natural resources, and human sciences at Land-grant Universities throughout America. He held tenured professorial and administrative positions at Oregon State University, Purdue University, Kansas State University, and Mississippi State University. While at Kansas State University, he envisioned and built the KSU Insect Zoo. Sonny has taught and undertaken research in integrative reproductive biology of insects, and has mentored a number of undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctorates. He received his Ph.D. from Rutgers University in entomology; his master’s and bachelor’s degrees in entomology are from the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, India. Dr. Gita Ramaswamy is the Senior Advisor for Scientific Integrity and Program Assessment in the Office of the Chief Scientist, USDA. Prior to joining USDA, she held tenured professorial and administrative positions at Oregon State University, Purdue University, Kansas State University, and Mississippi State University. Gita’s expertise is in textiles and the development of value-added products fibers, including biomedical applications. She also was instrumental in creating the framework for responsible conduct of research educational initiative and learning outcomes based assessment at Purdue and Oregon State University. Dr. Ramaswamy is an award-winning educator and researcher, and has taught courses in textile chemistry, fibers, and apparel design, and has mentored a number of graduate students. Dr. Ramaswamy received her Ph.D. from Mississippi State University in toxicology, her M.A. in textiles from Michigan State University, her M.Sc. (Ag) in entomology from University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, India, and her B.Sc. (Hons) in Zoology from Bangalore University. The kindness and generosity of Drs. Sonny and Gita Ramaswamy and their family in supporting the growth of our students is greatly appreciated!

The recipient of this scholarship will be a graduate student properly enrolled in the Department of Entomology in the College of Agriculture at Kansas State University. The recipient must demonstrate:

1. Scholarship, as evidenced by grades in courses and research accomplishments such as publications, presentations at meetings, etc., and
2. Service, as evidenced by participation as a citizen within the department and Insect Zoo, on campus or in the community, or with professional societies.

Applicants should submit the following:

• A cover letter that addresses the student's specific qualifications for the award and includes the student's contact information
• A letter of support from the student’s major professor or other faculty member
• 1-2 page CV including strong evidence of scholarship in entomology
• Graduate school transcripts and grades (unofficial transcripts are acceptable)
• 1-2 page statement of excellence in entomology, with a summary of research, teaching, and/or extension accomplishments, publications, presentations, and other supporting evidence

The Awards Committee will evaluate the applications and select the winner based on the overall accomplishments of the student in entomology. According to the guidelines supplied by the KSU Foundation, the final approval of the recipient will be made by the General Scholarship Committee, who will act upon recommendations made by the departmental Awards Committee. Students can be awarded this scholarship no more than once during their graduate programs in the Department of Entomology.

Scholarship Winners

Year	Winners	Advisor(s)	Amount
2020	Hannah Stowe	Tania Kim/ JP Michaud	$200
2019	Anastasia Cooper	Kun Yan Zhu	$500
2018	Catherine Stewart	Mike Smith	$1,000
2017	Not awarded
2016	Not awarded
2015	Erick Cordeiro	Jim Campbell/Tom Phillips	$500
2014	Lina Aguirre-Rojas	Mike Smith	$1,000