Joseph Olson, a junior with a double major in physics and mathematics and minor in chemistry in the UAB College of Arts and Sciences, has been awarded a scholarship to attend the prestigious Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD)-RISE summer internship program.
The DAAD-RISE internship is funded by the DAAD German Academic Exchange Program and is a fully funded six- to 12-week internship in Germany that includes accommodations and a stipend. Through DAAD-RISE, U.S. students in science and engineering are placed in top research labs to get a glimpse of advanced research work while gaining desirable practical experience in their field.
Olson will go to Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany, this summer to study hybrid solar cells. Olson has an interest in renewable energy and ultimately hopes to enroll for a doctorate in mathematics and physics.
“I am honored to be awarded the DAAD-RISE scholarship. It is an incredible opportunity and I am grateful to have had much support from UAB's faculty which has allowed me to go,” Olson says.
Olson, 20, is in the University Honors Program and the five-year Mathematics Fast-Track Program. His G.P.A. is 3.88. He is president of the UAB Green Initiative and treasurer of the Society of Physics Students. Olson is the son of Joseph A. and Katherine A. Olson of Huntsville.