Three University of Alabama students will receive the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship for 2020-2022.

The awardees are Elizabeth Batts, of Kingsport, Tennessee; Max Hawkins, of Renner, South Dakota; and Nicholas Hayes, of Memphis, Tennessee.

The scholarship provides a two-year academic award of $9,500 per year, and a 10-week, full-time, paid summer internship opportunity at any NOAA facility nationwide. Scholars also receive funding to present their NOAA research projects at two national scientific conferences.

Since the program’s inception in 2005, 36 UA students have been named Hollings Scholars.

Batts is a Randall Research Scholar majoring in marine science, biology and physics. She conducts research under Dr. Kevin Kocot, assistant professor of biological sciences, on the global biodiversity of aplacophora and biodiversity of Icelandic euphrosinidae.

Hawkins is a computer engineering major and Randall Research Scholar. He has worked under Dr. Jeremy Bailin, associate professor of physics and astronomy, to improve radio astronomy data using machine learning techniques.

Hayes is a Randall Research Scholar pursuing a diverse combination of majors and minors in mathematics, physics, interdisciplinary linguistics, German and computer science. Hayes serves as an undergraduate research assistant for Dr. Firat Soylu, assistant professor of educational psychology and neuroscience, and Dr. Zhe Jiang, assistant professor of computer science.

Learn more about the scholarship recipients by reading the full article on the UA News site.