Two Curtin University PhD students have been awarded prestigious scholarships from the Forrest Research Foundation.<\/p>\n
![\"forrest-foundation\"](\"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Forrest-Foundation.jpg\")
The Forrest Research Foundation Scholarship is provided to encourage and assist outstanding international and domestic students to undertake high quality research and enrol in a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree at a Western Australian university.<\/p>\n
Mr Frederik Seersholm, a University of Copenhagen alumni, and Ms Kit Prendergast were congratulated at the 2016 Forrest Research Foundation Scholars cocktail reception last night, held at Curtin St Georges Terrace.<\/p>\n
Curtin Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry said the scholarships recognised the outstanding research capabilities and aspirations of these students.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am delighted to welcome Frederik and Kit to Curtin and congratulate them on being named as prestigious Forrest Research Foundation Scholars,\u201d Professor Terry said.<\/p>\n
Ms Nicola Forrest said investing in research was critical to creating a culture that valued advanced knowledge and ideas that can change the world in which we live.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe winners represent some of the world\u2019s best young minds and their passion and commitment to solving issues at a global level makes them ideal candidates for the 2017 Forrest Scholarships,\u201d Ms Forrest said.<\/p>\n
Mr Frederik Seersholm said he felt privileged to be awarded the prestigious scholarship and looked forward to progressing his studies at Curtin.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy PhD will apply genetic methods to study bone fragments from a range of different sites across the world and aims to build a detailed map of biodiversity and species composition,\u201d Mr Seersholm said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy research will serve to make people aware of the effects they have on ecosystems and this scholarship will assist me in achieving this goal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Kit Prendergast said she was incredibly honoured to be selected as a Forrest Scholar and apply her passion to generate world-class science.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy research project involves assessing native bee assemblages in urban habitat fragments in South-West WA and investigating how the introduced European honeybee, Apis mellifera<\/em>, interacts with these native pollinators,\u201d Ms Prendergast said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Forrest Scholarship will enable me to realise the full potential of my project and the generous financial assistance will provide invaluable support and stability.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Ryuta Ujihara, a graduate from Kyoto University, was also awarded the Scholarship and will be completing his PhD at The University of Western Australia.<\/p>\n The Forrest Research Foundation was established in 2014 following the donation of $65 million over 10 years by Andrew and Nicola Forrest through the Minderoo Foundation.<\/p>\n