(Posted April 24, 2010)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Anna Bloom, a senior at Juniata College from Eldersburg, Md. studying chemistry, has been granted a Fulbright Fellowship to study and join a research team at the Max Planck Institute in Mulheim, Germany for the 2010-2011 academic year by the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

Bloom, the daughter of Hannelore and Michael Bloom of Eldersburg, is part of a program that sends more than 1,000 students abroad to study at foreign universities and sites. She is a 2006 graduate of Liberty High School.

At the Max Planck Institute, Bloom will work in the lab of Wolfgang Schrader, using mass spectroscopy to identify components in heavy crude oils. The research focuses on identifying the components in heavy crude oils, so techniques can be developed to make refining these oils easier.

Bloom has had a wide-ranging research career during her four years at Juniata. Most recently, she completed a research project in collaboration with Restek Corp., in State College, Pa., using gas chromatography to develop methods to detect pesticides in biodiesel fuel. She traveled to San Francisco, Calif. to present a poster on her research at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society in March.

In summer 2008 as a sophomore, she worked as an intern at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Md. As part of a project sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security, she worked on calibrating a detection instrument for airport security applications. Her project focused on making standards for trace explosive detection. She presented her research for this project at a 2009 American Chemical Society national meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah. Bloom also presented her research at a Department of Homeland Security Summit in spring 2009 in Washington, D.C.

As a freshman, Bloom received a von Liebig Research fellowship in summer 2007, where she performed computational chemistry research. She traveled to New Orleans, La. to present her computational research at an ACS national meeting.

In addition to her research on a national stage, Bloom also presented research projects at Juniata's Liberal Arts Research Symposium from 2008-2010.

She served as president of the Chemistry Club in 2009-2010 and was secretary of the club for the 2008-2009 academic year. She is vice president of Gamma Sigma Epsilon, the chemistry honor society, and is co-president of Colleges Against Cancer, a student chapter affiliate of the American Cancer Society.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program equips future American leaders with the skills they need to thrive in increasingly global environment by providing funding for one academic year of study or research abroad, to be conducted after graduation from an accredited university.

The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Financial support is provided by an annual appropriation from Congress to the Department of State, with significant contributions from participating governments and host institutions in the United States and abroad. The presidentially appointed J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board formulates policy guidelines and makes the final selection of all grantees.

The Institute of International Education administers and coordinates the activities relevant to the U.S. Student Program, including an annual competition for the scholarships. The Fulbright Program also awards grants to American teachers and faculty to do research, lecture and teach overseas. In addition, some 2,200 foreign Fulbright students and scholars come to the United States annually to study, carry out research and lecture at U.S. universities, colleges and secondary schools.



Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.