{"id":29302,"date":"2014-11-10T16:09:34","date_gmt":"2014-11-11T02:09:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=29302"},"modified":"2021-10-20T15:30:32","modified_gmt":"2021-10-21T01:30:32","slug":"uh-military-veteran-earning-phd-is-honored-with-research-fellowship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2014\/11\/10\/uh-military-veteran-earning-phd-is-honored-with-research-fellowship\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> military veteran earning PhD<\/abbr> is honored with research fellowship"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Gerald Cobian, right, was one of 11 military veterans who presented his research at the National Science Foundation headquarters.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Mānoa<\/a> graduate student Gerald Cobian<\/strong> is one of 11 military veterans with research fellowships in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields honored at a research symposium and ceremony at the headquarters of the National Science Foundation<\/a> (NSF) last week.<\/p>\n

Cobian is a second-year PhD<\/abbr> student in botany, working in a UH<\/abbr> Mānoa College of Natural Sciences laboratory led by Assistant Professor Anthony Amend<\/strong>. His dissertation research is focused on the community dynamics of foliar endophytic fungi—unique microorganisms that live inside the leaves of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>’s native plants.<\/p>\n

Cobian was selected from among 85 veterans nationwide who are currently supported by the NSF<\/abbr> Graduate Research Fellowship Program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

About the NSF<\/abbr> Saluting Veterans in STEM<\/abbr> symposium, Cobian commented, “It was a really diverse group of veterans, representing all different branches—Coast Guard, Air Force, Army, Marines and Navy—as well as all different types of research.” Other veterans presented on topics from prosthesis development to micro-robotics to biofuels.<\/p>\n

“It’s important for people to recognize that there are veterans doing this type of work,” Cobian added.<\/p>\n

A native of Northern California, Cobian served in the U.S. Marine Corps<\/a> from 2000 to 2004 as an infantry machine gunner, stationed at Twentynine Palms, California. He did two tours of combat duty in Iraq, once with 3rd<\/sup> Battalion 4th<\/sup> Marines, one of the first units into Baghdad. His second tour of duty was with 3rd<\/sup> Battalion 7th<\/sup> Marines in 2004, where his group occupied a forward observation base on the Iraq-Syria border.<\/p>\n

“Initially I never even planned on going to college,” said Cobian, who worked in construction in Southern California after he finished his military service. The GI<\/abbr> Bill made it possible for him to go back to school, first considering a degree in economics before switching to biology after a particularly positive classroom experience at Butte Community College<\/a> in Oroville, California.<\/p>\n