MSU engineering student wins $10,000 scholarship

March 8, 2013 -- Sepp Jannotta, MSU News Service

BOZEMAN - Breeann Foran, a student in Montana State University's Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department, earned a $10,000 scholarship from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers.

Foran, who is the MSU chapter president for ASHRAE, said the scholarship for the 2013-14 school year should cover tuition for her senior year.

"It's really great to have that kind of help," Foran said. "And it really makes me appreciate ASHRAE even more to know that they are helping students like that."

Foran, who is from Helena, was also listed among the 23 nominees nationwide for ASHRAE's "New Faces of Engineering: College Edition."

The recognition is well deserved, Kevin Amende said, assistant professor of mechanical and industrial engineering and director of the HVAC lab in MSU's College of Engineering. Amende, who hired Foran as an undergraduate researcher in the HVAC lab - heating, ventilation and air-conditioning - referred to Foran as one of most promising undergraduates in her field.

"Breeann has been instrumental this year in growing our ASHRAE student chapter," Amende said. "The Willis H. Carrier scholarship she was awarded is one of the most prestigious scholarships offered by ASHRAE, if not the most prestigious."

As the student branch president Foran led a successful fundraising campaign, raising enough money to send seven students to the ASHRAE winter conference.

In addition to the scholarship, Foran will be interning with AAON, Inc. in Tulsa, Okla., over the summer.

In the HVAC lab, Foran has been working on projects related to geothermal heating systems.

"It's made my college experience better for sure because I've gotten to step out of my comfort zone a little and learn about some technologies that are on the cutting edge," Foran said.

ASHRAE is a building technology trade organization with 50,000 members worldwide. The Willis H. Carrier scholarship honors a pioneer in the air-conditioning field and a former president of both of the trade societies that predated ASHRAE. The award is intended to honor "members for notable achievement, outstanding work or service in any field."

Contact: Elizabeth Brock, (406) 994-1564 or ebrock@coe.montana.edu

Source: Montana