Helping Aspiring Scientists Live the Laboratory Life

Take a stroll through any campus research building on any given day, and you’ll feel it: an air of mystery. It surrounds the potentially groundbreaking science taking place in the labs that line the hallway, as much as it surrounds the people in the labs themselves.

For many years, Dan and Karen Friderici were the people doing—and teaching—the science conducted behind those walls.

Now, through a generous gift in their will, they’ve created the Friderici Undergraduate Research Scholarship in the College of Natural Science. They hope to demystify lab life for aspiring scientists and provide the financial flexibility for students to participate in research.

It’s a concept Dan and Karen are familiar with. Both came to MSU as freshman science majors in 1963. Aided by a National Science Foundation fellowship, which provided room, board and a stipend in exchange for working in a lab, Karen found her niche and never looked back. For Dan, who came to MSU on the Alumni Distinguished Scholarship, it was much the same.

These experiences sparked long, successful careers in science. Along the way, they’ve encountered plenty of curious, driven students who, given the opportunity, might find their home in a laboratory, too.

“A scholarship makes it possible for students to concentrate fully on research,” Karen says. “Because it isn’t something you can do on the side. If I’d had to work another job in addition to pursuing research, it would’ve been unbelievably hard.”

“We’ve seen over and over what a difference it makes to expose undergraduates to research in a laboratory setting,” Dan adds. “It’s critical for helping students decide what they like or don’t like in terms of a career. Because you can’t get any idea of what it’s like by just standing outside.”

To learn more about how to transform what you love into a gift that opens doors for future Spartans, contact MSU Office of Gift Planning at 800-232-4678 | 517-884-1000 or giftplan@msu.edu today.