Bowling Green, Ky. - Two Western Kentucky University geoscience graduate students received scholarships to participate in the Twenty-fifth Annual Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) International User Conference in San Diego during the week of July 25-29.

Shwu-Jing Jeng of Taiwan and Narcisa Pricope of Romania were selected from a pool of applicants for the competitive scholarships, which supported 60 graduate and fourth-year undergraduate students from universities and colleges throughout the United States. The scholarships required students to work half-days at the conference while it covered their conference registration, workshops, meals and lodging.

ESRI is the biggest organization and vendor of geographic information systems (GIS) software in the world. Each year, ESRI hosts a conference for GIS users to share ideas and gain knowledge about GIS technology. For this year's event, there were more than 12,000 attendees and 350 sponsors.

This is the fourth year in a row that WKU's Department of Geography and Geology has had a student selected for the scholarship, but this year marks the first time that ESRI has selected two.

"WKU has developed the most integrated GIS program in the Commonwealth," said Geography and Geology Department Head Dr. David Keeling. "Our students are receiving national and international recognition through scholarships and research in part because of the investment in GIS facilities made by WKU over the past five years."

For information about GIS, WKU's GIS Certificate Programs and GIS applications in business and industry, contact Kevin Cary, GISP in the Department of Geography and Geology, at (270) 745-2981.

For information about applying for an ESRI student assistantship, contact Shwu-Jing Jeng at jengs@wku.edu or Narcisa Pricope at narcisa.pricope@wku.edu.

For information, contact Kevin Cary at (270) 745-2981.