Michael Serrano Receives Los Alamos Lab Scholarship

SOCORRO, N.M., November 3, 2000 -- Michael Anthony Serrano, a graduate of Santa Fe High School who is now a sophomore majoring in both computer science and electrical engineering at New Mexico Tech, recently was awarded one of several Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) scholarships.

Serrano is the son of Joe and Gloria Serrano of Santa Fe.

This year, 19 scholarships were awarded to undergraduate student employees at LANSCE on the basis of their overall performances, contributions to their respective research groups, and academic promise.

Since the scholarship program first began in 1998, LANSCE has awarded more than $47,000 in scholarships to 67 undergraduate students. Funds for the program are made available through patent royalties derived annually from LANSCE-developed technologies.

"I helped work on the Free Electron Laser (FEL) at Los Alamos National Laboratory," Serrano says, "and helped design a part that was going to be used for one of the experiments dealing with the FEL."

In addition to his recent LANSCE scholarship award, Serrano also is attending New Mexico Tech on a New Mexico AMP Transfer Scholarship and AMP Book Scholarship, a New Mexico Lottery Success Scholarship, and a New Mexico Tech Regents Scholarship.

"I transferred this year to New Mexico Tech from the Santa Fe Community College," Serrano notes, "where I had been a math tutor for two semesters."

The Santa Fe native also has become more involved in student research at New Mexico Tech, having recently joined the Tech Robotics Club.

"Most of the people I've met at Tech are nice," Serrano relates. "And, there's a lot of homework that always needs to get done; but, nevertheless, I think the university's electrical engineering program is great!"

And, although Serrano is now spending most of his time pursuing his studies and research in the Socorro university, he still hopes to contribute to his home town: "I've been trying to get help, so that I can start up a tutoring program for the kids in Santa Fe," he says. "I just wish I could get more people involved in such a program."