High value scholarship for UC engineering student
University of Canterbury engineering student Jennifer Haskell has been awarded a Woolf Fisher scholarship which, at a
total value of $300,000, is one of the most valuable scholarships awarded in New Zealand.
The three-year scholarships pay a student’s fees, provide an allowance of $35,000 a year, and cover the cost of return
air travel between the UK and New Zealand once a year. They were established in 1960 by Sir Woolf Fisher (1912-1975) who
co-founded Fisher and Paykel and was the first chairman of New Zealand Steel.
Jennifer, who is one of three students recognised in the 2008 round, will graduate from UC in April 2009 with a Bachelor
of Engineering honours degree. She will move to the University of Cambridge (UK) in September 2009 to begin work on her
PhD under Dr Gopal Madabhushi, a world-leading lecturer in geotechnical science.
Her research will focus on seismic design of foundations and utilise Cambridge's geotechnical centrifuge, a
sophisticated model that can simulate the impact of earthquakes on soil.
An athlete as well as an engineer, Jennifer has represented New Zealand in ice and inline (roller) hockey, and hopes to
play for the Cambridge women’s ice hockey team.
The annual Woolf Fisher scholarships are granted by the Woolf Fisher Trust. Its secretary, Dr Nigel Evans, says the
calibre of applicants continues to be outstanding.
“All of the short-listed applicants were outstanding honours students from our top universities. The Woolf Fisher
scholars are rapidly gaining a formidable reputation at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.”
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