Mary Hoelscher and Kristie Tank, both current science education Ph.D. students in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, and Graduate Research Assistants at the STEM Education Center, have recently been selected by the NARST Equity and Ethics Committee to receive the Jhumki Basu Equity Scholars Award. As 2012 Basu Scholars, both Hoelscher and Tank will receive a $700 scholarship that supports the expenses of attending this year's Annual NARST Conference that will be taking place this March in Indianapolis, IN. Only 15 NARST members were chosen to receive this award, which supports advanced-level doctoral students and junior scholars from underrepresented groups in the United States.

The Basu Scholarship program is designed to not only provide a financial award to its recipients, but also to help support and develop their research skills. This is carried out by requiring recipients to attend the NARST Conference and to participate in the Pre-Conference Workshop. In addition to the scholarship of $700, recipients will also receive a stipend for additional expenses surrounding the conference.