Ph.D. Candidate Miriam Hiebert Wins Smithsonian Fellowship

Miriam "Mimi" Hiebert, a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Materials Science Engineering at UMD, has recently been selected for a Big Ten Academic Alliance Smithsonian Fellowship. This award is only available to current Ph.D. students of Big Ten Alliance schools, which include UMD, Rutgers, University of Michigan, and Ohio State, to name a few. These awards are issued each year, but the number of awards varies by available funds. This year, 20 students received awards, 4 of which are UMD students. Recipients receive funds in the amount of $32,700 to be used for study, research and related travel.

However, "the real prize," said Hiebert, "is that it gives me open access to Smithsonian lab equipment, resources, expertise, and even some of the objects in their collection."

Hiebert has been working at the Smithsonian for the last few months, and this Fellowship will allow her to continue working at the Museum Conservation Institute (MCI), a branch of the Smithsonian, over the next year (she has two years max to complete her dissertation, according to the rules of the Fellowship). She is working with Dr. Ed Vicenzi at MCI to analyze the ability of atomic layer deposited films to protect glass museum objects from degrading. Hiebert is advised by MSE Professor and Chair, Ray Phaneuf.

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Published April 24, 2017