Marshall Scholarship goes to Arts & Sciences senior

Senior Jeffrey J. Marlow is among 43 young Americans to receive a 2007 Marshall Scholarship, which provides full support for two or three years of study toward a second bachelor’s degree or advanced degree at any British university.

Marlow, the son of James and Karla Marlow of Englewood, Colo., is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences. The May 2007 degree candidate is WUSTL’s first Marshall Scholar since 1993.

Jeffrey Marlow
Jeffrey Marlow

Marlow will join the University’s newly elected Rhodes Scholars Aaron F. Mertz and Leana S. Wen next fall in the United Kingdom.

“This has been a great year for Washington University student scholars,” Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton said. “To have two Rhodes Scholars and now a Marshall Scholar in one year is a wonderful testimony to our entire University community and its dedication to academic excellence. Jeffrey Marlow is an impressive young man with many accomplishments and a great future, and I know he will represent Washington University well.”

Marlow will enter Imperial College in London next fall to work on development and testing of the Urey Instrument, a component of the European Space Agency’s ExoMars mission. The instrument’s purpose is to collect Martian soil and analyze it for biological signatures.

Established in 1953, the Marshall Scholarships reward leadership in school, government and community endeavors, as well as excellence in scholarship and personal achievements.

Marlow has participated in WUSTL’s Pathfinder Program in Environmental Sustainability and contributed to multiple Mars missions.

Since summer 2005, he has been an Athena Team student collaborator on NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Mission and has studied boulder hazards at potential landing sites for NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander.

From summer 2004-05, he worked with NASA scientists to characterize the geomorphology of the northern plains of Mars to investigate ground ice distribution and pinpoint areas of interest for the Phoenix Lander mission.

In 2005, he was a summer research fellow at California Institute of Technology; in 2006, he was a summer student fellow at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts.

In addition, Marlow has researched microbial organisms in extreme environments in an attempt to understand biological adaptations that could be relevant in the search for life beyond Earth. He has co-authored four publications.

Marlow’s numerous scholarships include a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, an Arthur Holly Compton Scholarship, a J. Stephen Fossett Fellowship and a Robert C. Byrd Scholarship.

Throughout his college career, Marlow has participated in a number of community service and school outreach programs in the St. Louis area in an effort to introduce students to inquiry-based science.

He also participated in student government in a variety of positions. For instance, from spring 2005 to spring 2006, he was one of two undergraduate representatives to the Board of Trustees, sitting on several committees and discussing University concerns with trustees. He researched the state of the intellectual community at the University and presented the findings to the board.

Since 2002, he has run in six marathons, winning his age division in the 2002 Mile High City Marathon and the 2004 Lewis and Clark Marathon. He has climbed mountains in North America and Europe and participated in club ice hockey and tennis.

“The Marshall Commission could not have made a better choice,” said Ian MacMullen, Ph.D., assistant dean in the College of Arts & Sciences. “Jeff is a first-rate young scientist with a remarkable record of extracurricular leadership and service. And he climbs mountains. We are proud that he will be Washington University’s man in London for the next two years.”