The 1999 Sierra Pacific Power Company Fellowship has been awarded to Julie Allen, a graduate research assistant at the Desert Research Institute and a student in the Environmental Science and Health graduate program at the University of Nevada, Reno. The fellowship provides a one-year award of $14,000 from Sierra Pacific Power Company, an office at DRI and use of the institute's computer and laboratory facilities.
Ms. Allen, a Carson City native interested in toxicology in aquatic ecosystems, is the sixth UNR grad student to receive the Award from Sierra Pacific. In addition to her class work, she is learning field and analytical techniques to prepare her for a research trip to Antarctica in December under the direction of Dr. Chris Fritsen, a systems microbial biologist in DRI's Division of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences.
The new Sierra Pacific Fellow said she would like to be involved in the research and restoration of polluted aquatic ecosystems, and is considering continuing on for a Ph.D. degree following completion of her master's program. She earned an undergraduate degree at UNR in Environmental Science last May.