College of Science - Chem & Biochem - Reza Ehsani Memorial Scholarship

Reza Ehsani came to the United States from Iran in April, 1981. Typical of his approach to everything, he finished high school at an accelerated pace then began college in 1983. In 1985, he came to Cal Poly and majored in Chemistry and minored in Math. Reza developed a strong interest in chemical applications of sophisticated instrumentation that eventually led him to become involved in many research projects, culminating in a senior project devoted to the isolation and identification of natural products. Just as his academic interests were varied, so were his personal interests. Reza’s main interests included soccer, skiing, racquetball, chess and reading, especially technical articles. Reza’s goal was to complete a PhD in Chemistry and he had been accepted to graduate school at UC Riverside. A tragic accident claimed his life before he could begin his studies. Reza is remembered by those who knew him as an open, friendly person, devoted to his family with a generous and caring personality. In hopes of preserving his memory and inspiring others, a memorial fund has been established by contributions from his family and the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department. This award will be used to support annual awards to deserving chemistry undergraduate and graduate students at Cal Poly.

Criteria:

• Open to undergraduate (including newly admitted Transfers) AND graduate students majoring in chemistry

• Open to international students

• Open to Transfer students

• Minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75

• Preference will be given to undergraduate and graduate students who have shown promise in Organic chemistry and presented their research at local/regional/national science conferences. CHM 3140/CHM3150 grades, or equivalent, will be evaluated for whether applicant shows promise in organic chemistry.

• One letter of recommendation from Organic Chemistry faculty member or research mentor