Montana State University, known for educational excellence and generating students of high caliber, has accomplished another record. Janice Lucon, 25, a graduate student of the university has bagged a $90,000 fellowship from the National Science Foundation. Reason? Her research has the potency to make a difference in how light is harvested for alternative energy applications. Janice, hence, will receive an NSF annual stipend for three years to fund her research at the same university.

As per National Science Foundation, Janice Lucon won the Graduate Research Fellowship on the basis of her abilities, accomplishments, and potential to contribute towards strengthening the vitality of science and engineering in the U.S. It has been learnt that she grew up, in part, in northwest Montana’s Flathead Valley, and is highly engaged in working toward a doctorate in inorganic chemistry.

Lucon, who works at the moment in Professor Trevor Douglas’ laboratory, expressed her own elation through stating that the research involves using protein cages to analyze platinum nanoparticles. She is working to determine how many platinums to include inside a protein cage for maximum efficiency. There is also the need of determining which configuration and size of platinum particles to use can optimize hydrogen gas production. “We’re looking for the arrangement and size that works best,” she said.

It has also been found that, apart from results, Lucon’s work has the competence to help develop new methods for research. “We’re trying to develop new methods of studying (small particles),” she said. “Technology is getting smaller and smaller, and it is moving more toward the nanoscale. Some of the instruments we have don’t even work in that size range.”

Before coming to MSU two years ago, Lucon did undergraduate research at Montana Tech in Butte. “I went through the whole gamut of responsibilities (at Montana Tech),” she said. “There are no Ph.D.’s given at Montana Tech, and there are also very few master’s candidates. So we are given lots of opportunities as undergrads.”