Bigelow Laboratory would like to congratulate the 2016 Keller Scholarship winners Elizaveta Maslak and Krisandra McNichol.

Elizaveta is from Waterville, Maine and has been a student at Athens Academy (Athens, Georgia), Waterville Public High School, and the Maine School of Science and Mathematics. She also participated in the Keller BLOOM Marine Research Program for high school juniors at Bigelow Laboratory. Elizaveta plans to pursue a major in environmental engineering at Dartmouth this fall.

Krisandra is from Rockland, Maine and attended Oceanside High School. She will major in microbiology at University of Maine this fall and wants to pursue a career in the medical field. Both young women are active members of their schools’ clubs, athletic teams, and arts programs.

Each year, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences awards the Keller Scholarship to two rising undergraduate students from Maine who intend to major in the biological or earth sciences. Both winners are awarded a $1,000 scholarship to use for college expenses. Students must display remarkable academics, extracurriculars, and leadership skills to receive this award.

The Keller Scholarship honors Dr. Maureen Keller, a former research scientist at Bigelow Laboratory. Dr. Keller’s research focused on marine phytoplankton, and she believed it was important to provide Maine students with the opportunity to learn about the marine environments that define so much of Maine’s economy, history, and culture.