PASADENA—The California Institute of Technology is pleased to announce that Caltech senior Jeanne Wilson has been selected as one of 60 Watson Scholars. Wilson is a biology major, and will graduate from Caltech in June.
Starting in September, Wilson will spend 12 months traveling to England, South Africa, and Australia to study botanical gardens. Her project is titled "Conservation Strategies in World Botanical Gardens." Wilson plans to spend time at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England, the National Botanical Institute at Kirstenbosch in Cape Town, South Africa, and the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, Australia. She will do research and field work at each location.
The Watson Fellowship Program was begun by the children of Thomas J. Watson, Sr., the founder of IBM, and his wife, Jeannette K. Watson, to honor their parents' long-standing interest in education and world affairs. The foundation selects Watson Fellows based on each nominee's character, academic record, leadership potential, and willingness to delve into another culture, as well as the personal significance of the proposed project.
Wilson is from the Philadelphia area and attended Merion Mercy Academy in Merion Station, Pennsylvania, for high school. She serves on the Caltech Y Executive Committee and the Associated Students of the California Institute of Technology Movie Team.
Wilson has been an intern at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, and on campus has done research in plant genetics with Professor Elliot Meyerowitz. Last summer, Wilson was selected as a National Security Education Program Fellow and spent the summer in Istanbul, Turkey, studying the Turkish language and culture.
Founded in 1891, Caltech has an enrollment of some 2,000 students, and a faculty of about 280 professorial members and 284 research members. The Institute has more than 19,000 alumni. Caltech employs a staff of more than 1,700 on campus and 5,300 at JPL.
Over the years, 26 Nobel Prizes and four Crafoord Prizes have been awarded to faculty members and alumni. Forty-three Caltech faculty members and alumni have received the National Medal of Science; and eight alumni (two of whom are also trustees), two additional trustees, and one faculty member have won the National Medal of Technology. Since 1958, 13 faculty members have received the annual California Scientist of the Year award. On the Caltech faculty there are 75 fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; and on the faculty and Board of Trustees, 68 members of the National Academy of Sciences and 46 members of the National Academy of Engineering.
Written by Sue McHugh