Jeffrey B. Havens Memorial Award

This award was established as a memorial tribute to Jeff Havens (CE ‘78), who was killed in an automobile accident in 1979. The award is expected to be up to $3,000 for expenses plus a $100 cash prize.

Past Winners

2011 – Michael Rupolo ’12 – Summer Internship in Barcelona, W Aeronautica

2010 – Robert Elliot ’11 – Evaluation of various green engineering infrastructure sites in Europe

2009 – no award made

2008 – Kelley Goodman ’11 – NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

2008 – William “Ben” Towne ’09 – Service-learning project in the Dominican Republic with the Foundation for Peace

Description

The award provides non-traditional summer learning experiences for Lafayette engineering students. These non-traditional learning experiences are opportunities for education and personal development other than those provided in traditional course work during a regular academic year, or summer program. A non-traditional learning experience is also one that is not available at Lafayette College, and would not be possible without the support of the Havens Award. (Typically, proposals based on students traveling to their home town/country, and/or community service projects will not receive favorable reviews.)

Examples of previous Havens projects include the following:

  • Unpaid internship with a leader in science and technology
  • Field-based course in a subject not offered at Lafayette College, but central to the student’s interests
  • Service-learning project where both the student and the partner learned from each other throughout the project
  • Off-campus research on a topic central to the student’s interests that cannot be completed at Lafayette College

Application

Interested engineering students (first-year, sophomores, juniors) should submit a written proposal to the director of Engineering describing the project she/he wishes to undertake  and reasons why it would be of personal benefit to her/him. The proposal should not exceed two pages of single-spaced text, and should include an attachment listing a detailed budget of the expected costs for each aspect of the project.

Selection

A recipient will be selected by the engineering department heads on the basis of the quality of the proposal, its originality, value to the individual, and the individual’s need for such financial assistance.

The individual receiving the Havens Award will be required to make an on-campus presentation of her/his project in the academic year following the non-traditional learning experience. Reimbursement for costs are made after the presentation is completed.