B&O Railroad Museum Announces Awards for its 2015 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships

Officials of the B&O Railroad museum in Baltimore, Maryland announced today the winners of its 2015 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program. Five Fellowships were established in the subject areas of railroad business, labor, early railroading, women and African American studies.

The SURFs were offered to undergraduate students from colleges and universities throughout the Mid-Atlantic region on a competitive basis. Most fellowship programs in the United States are reserved for graduate students and faculty. The stipend for each winner is $2,000.00.

Courtney B. Wilson, Executive Director of the Museum stated; “…these Fellowships represent a rare opportunity for emerging collegiate historians to perform original research using primary resources from a wide range of repositories. The Museum staff is proud to work with these students and is looking forward to the completion of original research in each category.”

The Fellows commence their work in early June of this year with a December 15th deadline to present their paper. The Museum plans to publish their work on the museum’s website and use their research in the creation of new interpretive programs for the public.

The following students were chosen by a panel of historians:

Edward Romano, Rutgers University, New Jersey: The Brooke, McDonald and Company Fellowship in American Railroad Business Studies.
Cameron Donahue, Johns Hopkins University, Maryland: The B&O Railroad Museum Fellowship in African-American Railroad Studies.
Daniel P. Gates, Loyola University, Maryland: The Charles and Mary Kay Nabit Fellowship in Early American Railroad History.
Christopher Panetta, Elizabethtown College, Pennsylvania: The Samuel L. Waldschmidt Fellowship in American Railroad Labor Studies.
Katherine E. Muir, Saint Joseph’s University, Pennsylvania: The Eleanor Abell Owen Fellowship in Women’s Railroad Studies.

The B&O Railroad Museum™, a full affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American railroading and its impact on American society, culture and economy. The Museum is home to the oldest, most comprehensive collection of America railroad artifacts in the world including an unparalleled roster of 19th and 20th century railroad equipment. The 40-acre historic site is regarded as the birthplace of American Railroading and includes the 1851 Mt. Clare Station, the 1884 Baldwin Roundhouse and first mile of commercial railroad track in America. For further information on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum, please call 410-752-2490 or visit www.borail.org.