West Virginia University graduate Sarah Lovell wants to make science better.

Lovell, a computer engineering and biometric systems double major from Martinsburg, who graduated in May 2007, is the second WVU graduate to be chosen for The National AcademiesChristine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship Program .

She will serve as a technology policy graduate fellow to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences Air Force Studies Board. The 12-week fellowship will be held in Washington, D.C. from September to November.

I am so thrilled to say the least. It is a huge honor to get this fellowship, as they take less than 10 percent of applicants. I am completely delighted to have been given this prestigious and exciting opportunity,Lovell said.

The fellowship is designed to give graduate students in the fields of science, engineering, medicine, veterinary medicine, business, public policy and law the skills that are necessary to work in a science-policy field.

Technology policy is about making science better, and that is my career goal. Being a policy fellow will enable me to pick the minds of prominent scientists, engineers and policy experts,Lovell said.

Participants are assigned to a senior staff member who will serve as his/her mentor. The mentors role is to assist and guide the fellow when working on projects. Some of the projects that past fellows have worked on include creating a workshop on how scientists in developing countries can utilize new wireless communication networks to gain better access to the Internet.

Lovell, who completed her masters degree in technology policy at the University of Cambridge in 2008, will spend the majority of her fellowship working with the Standing Committee for Technology Insight-Gauge, Evaluate and Review (TIGER). The committee, which was established in 2005 at the request of the Defense Intelligence Agency, discusses technological breakthroughs and various trends in science and technology that could impact U.S. war fighting capabilities.

During the program, the fellows will get hands-on experience by creating their own seminar series, taking field trips, and attending briefings, lunches and events with each of the National Academiesthree presidents, among other things.

All fellows are given an $8,000 stipend during the course of the program. The stipend is intended to offset the cost of living during the fellowship period.

Interim Chief of Staff Jay Cole was the first WVU graduate to serve as a National Academiesfellow in the summer of 2007.

For more information on fellowship program, visit http://www.nationalacademies.org .