LIVERMORE, Calif. – November 30, 2007 – Whether he is guiding the Boy Scouts on a camping trip or examining protein stability in the chemistry lab, Richard Darst is constantly seeking to learn and teach. The 22-year-old Lake Jackson, TX, native recently won a full five-year graduate fellowship from the prestigious Fannie and John Hertz Foundation, which he is using to study chemical physics at Columbia University, New York, NY.
“I’ve been lucky to have had some very good teachers in the past, and I hope I can continue that tradition,” Darst says. Darst, a natural leader, achieved Eagle Scout status while still in high school, and has aspirations to one day become a university professor. “Whatever I wind up doing, it will focus on learning new things and teaching people.”
Darst is one of 15 graduate students selected from more than 580 across the country to receive the Hertz Graduate Fellowship. Of diverse ethnicities and backgrounds, Hertz Fellows each receive up to $240,000 over five years to pursue their own scientific interests at top universities in the United States. This no-strings-attached support gives Hertz Fellows financial independence and freedom to conduct innovative research because, unlike many other grants, university and study choices are not limited by strict funding requirements.
“Hertz Fellows represent the very best young scientific talent in our nation,” says John Holzrichter, PhD, Hertz Foundation president. “These students embody the drive and curiosity to solve the most difficult problems our world faces, and we are pleased to support them as they grow in their chosen disciplines.”
While at college at the University of Texas, Austin, Darst was actively involved in research projects that brought together scientific disciplines he enjoyed – chemistry, physics and mathematics. Though he is open to where his research will take him, for now Darst is interested in studying the mechanics of biological systems, the kind of work that could lead to the development of new pharmaceuticals. He believes that looking at things on a small scale can help to explain problems or solutions on a much bigger scale.
When Darst is not in the chemistry lab, he might be found sketching out a new cartoon that reflects on what he calls the “situational irony of academic life and teaching.” He’s also involved as a leader with local chapters of the Boy Scouts.
Darst graduated from Brazoswood High School, Clute, TX, in 2003, where he was a National AP Scholar and state champion in the University Interscholastic Science League. In 2007, he received a bachelor’s in chemistry with honors from UT Austin, where he graduated as a distinguished college scholar. His father, Kevin Darst, is a chemist for Dow Chemical Company, Freeport, TX, and his mother, Beatriz Darst, is a Spanish teacher at Brazosport College, Lake Jackson, TX. Richard’s brother, Alex, is an engineering student at UT Austin.
About the Hertz Foundation
The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation, based in Livermore, Calif., is a tax exempt, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the selection and support of outstanding individuals in the applied physical, biological and engineering sciences. Founded in 1963, the Foundation’s mission is to build America’s capacity for innovation by nurturing remarkable applied scientists and engineers who show the most promise to change the world. It awards fellowships to an average of 15 PhD candidates every year to pursue graduate studies at the nation's finest academic institutions. As a result, the Hertz Foundation supports the research efforts of about 75 Fellows at any given time. The Hertz Fellowships are widely considered to be among the most competitive and most prestigious offered anywhere. For more information about the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation, as well as giving opportunities, go to www.hertzfoundation.org.
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