Two OU meteorology students have been selected to receive esteemed research fellowships from the National Science Foundation.

Meteorology graduate students Nick Engerer and Owen Shieh were both winners in the “Geosciences—Mesoscale Dynamic Meteorology” category. The two are among 1,236 other research students across the country that received awards in 2009.

“It’s a very prestigous scholarship,” said Fred Carr, OU meteorology department director. “They’re pretty rare. I would guess that among the entire 4,000-student body of OU graduate students, there’s probably between three and six of them among all departments. So for [meteorology] to have two of them is really great.”

Engerer and Shieh will be allocated $30,000 every year to conduct storm-related research during the three-year fellowships. They also will receive $10,500 for a tuition waiver, and a travel grant to conduct studies abroad.

The National Science Foundation is the leading organization funding basic scientific studies and is the primary supporter of university research, Carr explained.

“A new word being used is ‘transformative’ research,” Carr said. “It’s something that will eventually lead to transforming an industry. The things that will drive the economy 10 or 20 years from now are being studied today. I think [the scholarship] gives Nick and Owen the freedom to address the leading scientific problems in severe storms research without being tied to a specific task.”

Shieh’s research includes using mechanical modeling to study the structure of hurricanes and landfall, especially as it relates to how tornadoes form inside a hurricane when it hits land, Shieh explained.

Engerer said he plans on using his award to simulate thunderstorms that produce tornadoes to find the origin of the tornadic spin.

“What we don’t know is why tornadoes form in one storm and not the other when they look the exact same,” Engerer said.

Shieh said this wasn’t the first time he had applied for fellowship.

“I found out about the fellowship a couple of years ago and had applied the first time [during] my senior year of undergrad at Cornell University in New York,” he said. “I applied, but I didn’t get it. After coming here last year, I decided to test my chances and apply again.”

Shieh chose OU because of the meteorology department’s national reputation, he said.

“I came here specifically for how large and how all encompassing the program was,” he said. “As far as meteorology prestige, OU is at the top of the list. A meteorology building of its own is unheard of in most other schools.”

Shieh said he and Engerer never expected to both win the fellowship.

“Nick is a good friend of mine, and we actually helped each other on the applications, so it’s great that we both actually won,” he said.

Both students said they plan to obtain doctorates and become professors.