Scholarship: KU grad student honored for remote sensing research

A Kansas University student is the first student to receive multiple scholarships from the nation’s largest society of remote sensing researchers.

L. Monika Moskal, a graduate student in geography and research assistant at the Kansas Applied Remote Sensing Program, was picked for two scholarships from the American Society for Photogrammerty and Remote Sensing.

Moskal, a native of Poland, received the William S. Fischer Memorial Scholarship for being the top student in the nation for remote sensing. She also received the Ta Liang Memorial Award, which encourages research-related travel for students.

Moskal is part of a NASA-sponsored project at Yellowstone National Park, which is collecting field samples and comparing data to satellite images to help forest managers understand the land they oversee.

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Philanthropy: Writer’s bequest establishes memorials at KU Med Center

A writer for the Kansas City Star and Vogue magazine has bequeathed $1.5 million to the Kansas University Medical Center, university officials announced Thursday.

Jessie Hodges Benton’s gift will support research and treatment of deafness and blindness.

Benton’s brother was deaf after contracting spinal meningitis as an infant. Her stepmother became blind late in her life.

About $1 million of Benton’s gift will establish a memorial fund in the department of speech and hearing, divided between an endowed professorship and research funds for faculty members to improve communication skills of deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

The remaining $500,000 will support department of ophthalmology research on glaucoma and macular degeneration, two major causes of blindness.

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Homecoming: Astronaut to deliver lecture during return to campus

Astronaut Steven Hawley will return to his alma mater to give a public lecture April 5.

Hawley, who graduated from Kansas University with a bachelor’s degree in physics and astronomy in 1973, will talk about NASA’s space observatories at the Aerospace Colloquium sponsored by the KU department of aerospace engineering. The lecture will be from 3:30 p.m. to 5:20 p.m. in 3140 Wescoe Hall.

After graduating from KU, Hawley earned a doctorate in astronomy and astrophysics from the University of California-Santa Cruz. He was selected to be an astronaut in 1978 and first flew on the maiden flight of the shuttle Discovery in 1984. In all, he has flown on five shuttle missions.

Hawley now serves as director of flight crew operations at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

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Gasoline prices: Pump Patrol seeks best deal

The Journal-World has found a Lawrence-area gasoline price as low as $1.32 at several Lawrence service stations.

If you find a lower price, please call us at 832-7154. Be prepared to leave the name and address of the business and the price. Or go to www.ljworld.com/section/gasoline to join our Pump Patrol message board.