Top scholarship awarded to Kansas State University architectural engineering graduate student
Friday, April 24, 2015
MANHATTAN — Collin Wheeler, Blue Springs, Missouri, a graduate student in architectural engineering at Kansas State University, has been awarded a $6,000 scholarship from the Besal Lighting Education Fund, representing the top prize among graduate students in the nation.
Wheeler, a fifth-year student pursuing a master's degree with an emphasis in lighting design, will use the scholarship for tuition in the fall 2015 and spring 2016 semesters. He passed the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam in fall 2013, and anticipates graduating with his bachelor's and master's degrees from K-State in May 2016.
As a student, Wheeler has been active in the Illuminating Engineering Society and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, both as a member and officer in each. He is also a member of the International Association of Lighting Designers. His summer internships have included Mercer-Zimmerman Inc., Overland Park; Henderson Engineers Inc., in both Lenexa and Manhattan; and in mid-May, the DLR Group, Overland Park.
"Collin is an outstanding student with a proven talent and skill set in lighting design," said Fred Hasler, associate professor of architectural engineering and construction science and Wheeler's advising professor for graduate studies. "I believe he will well represent the goals of the Besal Fund as he uses this scholarship to prepare for a successful career in the lighting industry."
This year's scholarship competition required the students to submit a proposal to renovate office space and a new ride being developed for a theme park company in the Los Angeles area. Specific issues that had to be addressed were updated lighting controls, reduced energy and maintenance costs, flexibility, nighttime effect and the quality of the lighting.
Scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students through the Besal Fund are only available to those who attend a qualified Besal campus. Kansas State University, and the architectural engineering and construction science department, is one of only six universities in the U.S. that is qualified because of its extensive course offerings related to lighting and lighting systems design.
The Besal Fund, established in honor of the late Robert J. Besal — whose career of more than 30 years in the lighting industry exemplified high standards of knowledge, professionalism and service — has awarded nearly $600,000 in scholarships since its inception.
