Clarkson University Student Awarded Department of Defense SMART Scholarship

Cooper Mattice ‘25, an Honors Student at Clarkson, has been awarded the Department of Defense Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship.

Mattice is a double major in Civil and Environmental Engineering, focusing on Water Resources Engineering, and is from Batavia, NY. At Clarkson, he is a member of the Varsity Swimming and Diving Team, the Honors Program, and Treasurer of the Clarkson Chapter of the New York Water Environment Association. He also works as a student proctor for the Office of Accessibility Services.

“I was incredibly excited to be awarded the scholarship and honestly surprised,” Mattice said “Since it is a national-level scholarship, I didn't expect to be awarded, but I'm really excited about it! I feel that all of my hard work in high school and college is definitely paying off, especially since this opportunity is in exactly the field I was hoping to explore as a professional. Even more exciting, they offered me an internship position this summer as well, separate from the SMART Scholarship program.”

The SMART Scholarship is a program sponsored by the Department of Defense, designed to create a relationship between them and bright and motivated STEM college students. It offers experience at one of 200 laboratories throughout the Department of Defense. The SMART Scholarship covers a student’s tuition for the remainder of their degree. It requires summer internships at a selected facility and employment for the number of years funded.

Mattice received help from previous Clarkson SMART Scholars Jack DiMeo, Sam Gwinn, and Duff Crochiere, who helped with the application process and the interview.

The Army Corps of Engineers selected Mattice in Nashville, Tennessee. He will work over the summer in the Cumberland River Basin on various water-related projects, including dam & lock remediation, river restoration, and flood management. He will now reside in Nashville for the next two years of undergraduate studies and two years post-graduation.

The Department of Defense employs nearly 150,000 civilian STEM employees. Since 2005, SMART has allowed thousands of students to receive bright futures in STEM.

For more information about the SMART Scholarship Program, go to www.smartscholarship.org/smart. The Application is open annually from August to December.