KU senior advances as a finalist for the Marshall Scholarship

LAWRENCE — A University of Kansas senior from Wichita has advanced to become a finalist for the Marshall Scholarship, which provides funding for graduate study at any university in the United Kingdom.

Mary Sevart, who is majoring in chemical engineering with plans to pursue a doctorate in the same field, is a finalist for the award.

Up to 50 awards are given annually. Final decisions on which students will receive the awards will be made later this year following finalist interviews to be conducted this month.

The Office of Fellowships coordinates KU's endorsement process and supports candidates through the application process.

Students interested in applying for the Marshall Scholarship or similar awards in the future are encouraged to contact the office by email at fellowships@ku.edu. Depending on other eligibility requirements, students may apply for these awards as juniors, seniors or recent graduates.

Sevart is the daughter of Eric and Karen Sevart and a graduate of Maize High School.

Currently, she serves as the testing lab manager for the KU Biodiesel Initiative and conducts undergraduate research for Susan Williams, Charles E. & Mary Jane Spahr Professor, with a focus on the valorization of hemp biomass to create a fuel source.

She also is the co-president of KU's Society of Women Engineers chapter and a KU School of Engineering ambassador.

In spring 2022, Sevart was named a Barry M. Goldwater scholar as well as Outstanding Junior of the Year in the Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering.

She was also selected as a university representative for the Kansas Undergraduate Research Days at the Capitol event.

In fall 2021, Sevart won first place in the Society of Women Engineers national poster competition, and in spring 2021, she received the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship and an Undergraduate Research Award.

Sevart worked at Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita in the summer of 2021 as a materials and processes engineering intern, and most recently during summer 2022, she interned at the National Weather Service in State College, Pennsylvania, as a hydrology intern, with a focus on improving the accuracy of river forecasting models.