Report of Gifts 2010: Brian Kovaric Fund Honors Affinity for Research in Natural Science
Sam Blau '12 (left) with Associate Professor of Chemistry Alex Norquist.
When Dr. Thomas Kovaric '71 and his wife Judy, of Vancouver, WA, sought to establish a fund in memory of their son Brian '05, they wanted to do more than set up a scholarship. They wanted to honor the experience Brian had been fortunate enough to have the summer before his sophomore year as a summer research intern at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
"We recognized that so many bright young students at Haverford are like Brian in that they are searching for a particular direction," said Dr. Kovaric. "The first year provides an opportunity to develop relationships with professors and level themselves out."
"Brian realized after his first year that he wanted to get professional lab experience," said Mrs. Kovaric, "and after that summer at the JPL he was fortunate enough to publish some of that research. This experience launched in him a desire and a love for research." Brian spent the next two summers on campus doing similar research in nanotechnology.
The fund the Kovarics created in 2006 supports a rising sophomore in a 10-week summer research appointment in the natural sciences. "Doing research doesn't always work the way you expect," said Dr. Kovaric, who is a cardiologist. "Many times you have negative results, but this is an important lesson, especially when you are just starting out. When you fall short of one success, it often leads to something else that is just as beneficial."
"Haverford prides itself on encouraging cooperation and multidisciplinary pursuits in its students," Dr. Kovaric added, fondly recalling his own studies at Haverford. Mrs. Kovaric added, "We asked ourselves, what can we do to make this same kind of difference in the lives of other young students? Our idea was to provide funding to a student who wouldn't otherwise have the kind of opportunity that meant so much to Brian."
"The grant-funded positions in a lab tend to fill up quickly, usually by seniors," says Alexander Norquist, Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Haverford. "The Kovaric Fund ensures that a bright young researcher will get a spot in the lab no matter what—and that can make all the difference for a young person."
Sam Blau '12 is the fourth recipient of the Brian Kovaric Fund. Like Brian, Sam had his research published while still an undergraduate. He and two other students were co-authors on a paper Prof. Norquist published, entitled, "Noncentrosymmetry in new templated gallium fluorophosphates," in volume 48 of Inorganic Chemistry, the journal of the American Chemical Heritage Society.
Sam's experience in Professor Norquist's lab focused on inorganic and solid-state chemistry. "I wanted to start doing research right away after my freshman year," Sam says. "Because of the excellence of the department at Haverford, I wanted to take advantage of any opportunity I could. The advantage of working over the summer is that you don't have the stresses of classes and exams that we have during the semester—just a research problem to tackle."
"Research is definitely different from academic work," says Prof. Norquist. "Unlike having the calendar tell you when you're done, research demands that you get as much done as possible in the time you have, and every answer leads to four more questions. This experience that the Kovarics make possible exposes students like Sam the to the experience of graduate-level study in a team atmosphere."
Prof. Norquist adds that the Haverford students with the aptitude and attitude to excel at this kind of work tend to stand out during their first year. "It's not hard to read the signs," he says. "We select those who are already enthusiastic about careers in research and excited about an opportunity that could affect the course of their entire career." Other past recipients have been Asha Mahajan '11, Martin Blood-Forsythe '10 and Justin Meyerowitz '09.
Sam has continued to work in Prof. Norquist's lab during the academic year and hopes to pursue graduate work in chemistry. "It's meaningful to us that the students who use this scholarship have fun and are exposed to another possible direction for study and potential careers," Dr. Kovaric said.
"I knew Brian," added Prof. Norquist, "and I saw how the internship experience after his freshman year really opened his eyes about what research is all about. It's exciting to see the same passion for research come alive in these students through this opportunity the Kovarics have made possible."