The P.E.O. was founded in 1869 with the goal of promoting educational opportunities for women.
Today, the P.E.O. boasts over a quarter of a million members belonging to many local chapters across the US and Canada and has several active programs to provide monetary support to women's education. P.E.O. Scholar Awards, which date back to 1991, are awarded based on merit to women actively pursuing a doctoral degree full-time. The purpose of these awards is to enable women pursuing higher education to contribute significantly to the field of study they have chosen. The award is a one-time scholarship of $10,000 intended to be used for expenses incurred during graduate study, ranging from travel to conferences to living expenses.
Stephanie Seidlits is a third-year BME student co-advised by Christine Schmidt and Jason Shear. She is working to develop three-dimensionally patterned cellular scaffolds to aid the regeneration of complex tissues, such as the nervous system.
