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“Both Kruger and Glass cleared the U.S. application round, which is a great achievement in itself, but Matt cleared the Austrian round as well. Both were great proposals,” said Christensen.

The Fulbright award was set up by Kentucky Senator J. William Fulbright following World War II as a way for the countries devastated by the war to pay back the foreign aid they received for rebuilding.

“It’s a 12-month scholarship and all student loans go on hold for 12 months, so it’s not only an opportunity to pursue research, but also to discover another culture,” said Christensen.

The recipient receives library privileges, health coverage and travel grants, all of which is paid for by the host country.

Glass, a triple major in German, philosophy and mathematics, will be working on a philosophy of mathematics research paper, as well as helping teach English in a Vienna high school and taking a few classes at the University of Vienna.

According to Glass, in the 1920s and 30s there was a prominent mathematician named Kurt Gödel who contributed with and addressed the Vienna Circle of Philosophers. Gödel derived what were called the Incompleteness Theorems, which were used by philosophers and mathematicians of the time.

“My research project is about philosophical implications of the Incompleteness Theorems,” said Glass. “I’m going to be looking at how the Vienna Circle of Philosophers looked at the theorems and how they used them in their work, because a lot of people nowadays think the theorems provide an argument against the Vienna Circle. I’m trying to see if they interpreted the theorems in a different way and if they are still correct.”

To find answers to his questions, Glass will study Gödel’s archives as well as those available from the Vienna Circle.

Kruger’s proposal was to continue his honors work of modifying the ingredients used in the production of bio-diesel to speed up the reaction time.

“There are certain types of algae that have higher oil content, and I was specializing in the extraction of the oil,” said Kruger.

If awarded the scholarship he would have joined a team at the University of Graz working on supercritical and Bio-diesel out of traditional materials. Kruger’s plan would have incorporated algae.

“It’s a really efficient fuel and you don’t have to use products usually used for food,” said Kruger.

“Jake would have had the fortunate case of bringing with him research already in the making and not just go over to learn from them,” said Christensen.

Both Kruger and Glass have spent time in the area in the past. Glass studied in Germany for his junior year and Kruger interned at an energy plant in Austria last summer.

Kruger will be beginning his first year of graduate school in material science at the University of Minnesota in the fall.

Glass said he is applying to graduate schools before he leaves and after returning plans to pursue a Ph.D. in philosophy.