Lindsey Bass, of Pasadena, Maryland, will be the inaugural recipient of the new Glen E. Salmon Scholarship for Multidisciplinary Studies.

The scholarship is designed for recipients who are upper-level undergraduates with a major in either the College of Science or the College of Engineering and who also have a minor or second major outside those colleges. Bass is a senior working toward two separate degrees – one in mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering and a second in vocal performance in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. She is also an Honors College student.

“I enjoy applying the talents I gain from both engineering and music to all endeavors, and through this well-rounded approach to education, I am confident that I will be well-prepared to bring society a more stable, safe, and efficient future,” Bass said.

After Bass earns both bachelor’s degrees, she plans to pursue an accelerated master’s degree in mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech. She hopes to pursue either an industry or research career in the additive manufacturing field.

After seeing the value of a diverse background in his own career, Glen Salmon created the scholarship to encourage students to branch out and learn more than one discipline. A self-proclaimed generalist, Salmon is currently a user experience designer and office MacGyver for Bradán Lane Studio, after retiring from a career with IBM and other technology corporations.

“What has assisted me most in my career has been my broad spectrum of experiences from which to draw. Many of these have been outside the software technology space,” Salmon said. Now, he hopes to reward students who are also thinking beyond a single discipline. “Students with a diverse foundation are both more capable and more valuable when they go into the marketplace. In my experience, these students contribute more and are more successful in their career lifespans.”

Beyond interdisciplinary course work, Bass also balances her diverse interests out of the classroom. She is a current undergraduate researcher in the Design, Research, and Education for Additive Manufacturing Systems (DREAMS) lab at Virginia Tech as well as in the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Intelligent Systems Division’s engineering laboratory. She participates with the Virginia Tech Chamber Singers and was an Honors Residential Community junior fellow for four years. She has studied abroad twice, first with the University Honors Presidential Global Scholars in spring 2014 and later with the Virginia Tech Chamber Singers to Ireland in May 2015. Bass is also active in volunteer work, such as the Newman Catholic Campus Ministry.

“Lindsey emulates the VT-shaped student that is being promoted for the future of Virginia Tech, with transdisciplinary knowledge and technology literacy, informal communal learning, disciplinary depth, and guided experiential learning,” said Christina McIntyre, senior associate director of the Honors College. “She has intentionally sought experiences on campus and far beyond Blacksburg – in technology and the arts. She continues to surprise us with her selfless Ut Prosim spirit. She is humble, yet proud. She works really hard and smiles through most of it.”

Bass is also a recipient of the Alumni Presidential Scholarship.

Applications for next year’s Glen Salmon Scholarship are due May 1, 2017, with decisions being made later that month.

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