The Department of Political Science congratulates Victoria Moeller, who has been selected as a Gates Cambridge Scholar for 2007.

Victoria Moeller, a member of the Honors College and a senior at Michigan State University, combines passion for math and science with a strong sense of community and an interest in public policy, especially science policy.  At Michigan State University, Victoria is pursuing two degrees: in physics and in political science (public administration and public policy).  Victoria worked in the National Superconducting Cyclotron Lab and the Gamma Ray Spectroscopy group, at Fermi Lab, and at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland.  She received the Lawrence Hantel Endowed Fellowship from the MSU Physics Department, the MSU College of Natural Science Faculty Award, and the Honors College Cole Excellence Award.  Victoria served as vice-president of the MSU Tower Guard; the founding president of MSU's Rock the Vote Team; and the president of the MSU Chapter of the League of Women Voters.  Victoria is a member of the Society of Physics Students and sits on the Honors College Student Advisory Council.  Victoria's senior honors thesis, supervised by Professor Charles Ostrom, is a comparative study of science funding policy in the U.S. and Europe.  In the future, Victoria hopes to use her scientific expertise in combination with her knowledge of public policy to advise governmental officials on science policy issues.  Victoria looks to serve society and future generations through interaction with the global scientific community, and eventually to hold the position of National Science Advisor.

The Gates Cambridge Trust selects approximately 100 new Gates Scholars from around the world each year, with typically about 40 from the US.  Scholars are selected "on the basis of a person's intellectual ability, leadership capacity and desire to use their knowledge to contribute to society throughout the world by providing service to their communities and applying their talents and knowledge to improve the lives of others."  The Scholarship provides full support for graduate study at the University of Cambridge, where Victoria will pursue a PhD in high energy physics.

Congratulations, Vicki!