ECE Undergrad Scott Watson Named Merrill Presidential Scholar

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Scott Watson

ECE undergraduate Scott Watson and Professor Gilmer Blankenship were honored at a ceremony for the Philip Merrill Presidential Scholars Program held at the University of Maryland Riggs Alumni Center.

The Merrill Presidential Scholars Program honors the University of Maryland’s most successful seniors and their designated University faculty and K-12 teachers for their mentorship. The Merrill Scholars and their mentors are honored in a special ceremony each year that brings teachers and faculty together to form stronger collaboration between the University and K-12 schools.

Watson, a computer engineering major and member of the Maryland Robotics Club, was selected as one of two students from the Clark School of Engineering, and one of only 24 undergraduates campus-wide to be named to the 2007-2008 Merrill Presidential Scholars list.

Watson credited his mentor, Professor Blankenship, for introducing him to "the broad field of signals and systems research" in Blankenship's class on numerical techniques in engineering.

"His emphasis on real-world problem solving intrigued me," said Watson. "At the end of the semester, I felt a sense of accomplishment when I reflected on the MATLAB code I had written as a direct result of the theory I learned in class."

Scott also expressed his appreciation for his high school physics teacher, James Barton, of Bel Air High School in Maryland.

For more information on the Merrill Presidential Scholars Program, visit: http://www.ugst.umd.edu/merrill/scholarsmpsp.html.

Published February 19, 2008