Department of Defense names mechanical engineering and math student a SMART scholar
Monday, May 4, 2020
MANHATTAN — Kansas State University's Sean Cranford, junior in mechanical engineering and mathematics, Leavenworth, has received the U.S. Department of Defense SMART Scholarship.
The scholarship, which stands for Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation, provides students full tuition for the remainder of their undergraduate education, a $25,000 a year stipend, medical and book fee allowances, a 10-week paid summer internship and guaranteed employment at a Department of Defense facility.
Cranford will complete his internship and post-graduation employment at the Space Vehicles Directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. Research is an important part of the scholarship program and adds to a growing list of undergraduate research projects on Cranford's resume.
In summer 2019, he participated in a 10-week Research Experience for Undergraduates, or REU, at Texas A&M University, where he worked in the National Aerothermochemistry and Hypersonics Laboratory. During his sophomore year, he worked in the Nanomaterials and Characterization Lab with Zayd Leseman, associate professor of mechanical and nuclear engineering, at K-State. In summer 2018, he also participated in a 10-week Research Experience for Undergraduates at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, where he worked in the Center for Electro-Optics and Functionalized Surfaces.
Cranford is a member of Phi Kappa Phi, Tau Beta Pi and the University Honors Program. A 2017 graduate of Lansing High School, he is the son of Ted and Lisa Cranford.
