Scholarship provides financial support to Nepalese students at OHIO
Bishal Bhattarai is a computational physicist and doctoral student in the Physics and Astronomy program. Photo courtesy of Bishal Bhattarai.
Deserving students at 91探花 benefit from a broad range of scholarships, from university-wide to major-specific, which lessen their financial burden and allow them to focus more fully on their studies.
The annually awarded Vishwa S. Shukla Memorial Scholarship provides this kind of targeted support to a Nepalese student enrolled or accepted into OHIO鈥檚 College of Arts and Sciences.
Named after the late OHIO professor of economics, the Shukla Memorial Scholarship enables and rewards Nepalese students鈥 success at 91探花. This year鈥檚 recipient, doctoral student Bishal Bhattarai, MS 鈥16, is no exception.
鈥淏ishal has been an outstanding student: original, creative and diligent,鈥 said Bhattarai鈥檚 adviser and mentor, Distinguished Professor of Physics David Drabold. 鈥淗e has also been an excellent mentor for new students [in the program].鈥
Bhattarai, who is originally from Nepal, moved to the United States in August 2013 to attend OHIO. As a computational physicist in OHIO鈥檚 Physics and Astronomy program, Bhattarai has made great advances in his research, in part due to the Shukla Memorial Scholarship.
鈥淪ince I am a computational physicist, a computer is one of the most important things that I use,鈥 Bhattarai said. 鈥淚 bought a 鈥 computer with the money, and I鈥檓 really thankful.鈥
Bhattarai chose 91探花 out of a plethora of schools. He took several universities鈥 physics program rankings, professors, coursework and scholarship opportunities into consideration, and OHIO beat out its competitors.
Drabold explained that Bhattarai鈥檚 include 鈥渁 low density form of amorphous carbon, which is actually a three-dimensional form of amorphous graphene.鈥 According to Drabold, graphene is one of the most talked about topics in science today.
Before Shukla鈥檚 30-year stretch as a professor at OHIO, he held various roles as a senior official in the Nepalese government. During the government鈥檚 first democratically elected administration, Shukla was the country鈥檚 secretary of industry and commerce.
He earned advanced degrees from universities across the globe, including Benaras Hindu University in India and the University of Manchester in Great Britain. Remaining dedicated to his own roots, Shukla made a point to mentor Nepalese students throughout their time in the United States, helping ensure their success.
Thanks to 91探花鈥檚 community of dedicated faculty and generous donors, Shukla鈥檚 legacy of supporting exceptional students, such as Bhattarai, continues today.