Charlie Corredor. Photo by Jessica Slater, ASU
Charlie Corredor came to the department this fall with a very unique honor. The graduate student, who transferred from Arizona State University this fall, was named a pre-doctoral Ford Foundation Fellow in April 2011. Corredor brought this prestigious honor to the UW, making him the first Ford Fellowship Fellow in the history of UW Chemical Engineering. He is one of three UW Engineering students and only handful of UW students ever to receive the fellowship.
Ford Foundation Fellows are awarded based on their academic achievement, plans for a career in higher education, are promising scholars, and are committed to enriching the lives of students of all diversities. The award includes a stipend and payment of the student’s tuition and fees. Corredor’s fellowship award officially started this autumn quarter and will run for three years. But the fellowship provides more than financial assistance. “The support that the Ford Family Foundation provides is huge! They offer conferences where previous Ford Fellows advise and guide you.”
Corredor was one of 60 fellows selected from thousands of applications in 2011. “I could not believe it,” he said. “I was so happy and thankful to all the people that supported me.” Of course, Corredor had many accomplishments that helped him earn his fellowship. As an undergrad, he worked on projects with New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and the New York Police Department, the Energy Institute at the City University of New York, and at Jilin University (China), the Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden), and Pierre and Marie Curie University (Paris). He will use this fellowship to continue his passion for research. “This award will give me the opportunity and freedom to work any exciting research project.”
Corredor was a proud Sun Devil at Arizona State University when he was received word he had won the fellowship. But when his advisor, Prof. Jonathan Posner, took a faculty position with UW’s Mechanical Engineering department, Corredor decided to hang up his devil horns to become a Husky. “Did I hesitate to come to the UW? Not really! The relationship that I have with my advisor is priceless. He is the reason why I choose ASU from many other schools and the same applied to the UW.” But Prof. Posner wasn’t the only factor in Corredor coming to the UW. “Dr. Posner was a huge weight for my decision to come to the UW. But, let’s not forget how prestigious the chemical engineering department is and how friendly and welcoming faculty and staff were with me when I came to visit. Now I am proud to say that I am a husky!”
Now settled into life in Seattle, Corredor is working toward his Ph.D. and a future in higher education. “My primary career goal is to follow the academia path. After a career in academia, I aspire to become a U.S. national education advisor to catalyze major education reforms.”
Read more about Corredor’s story at http://engineering.asu.edu/news/8470.