Scholarship Honors NERHP Alumnus

Story Posted: Mon, Nov 24, 2008

The Department of Nuclear Engineering & Radiation Health Physics recently endowed a scholarship in honor of OSU alumnus Lieutenant Jeffrey Ammon.

Commissioned as an officer following his graduation in nuclear engineering in 2001, Ammon volunteered to join a Provincial Reconstruction Team rebuilding war-torn Afghanistan. “He wanted to help the Afghan people,” says Rear Admiral James Symonds Rear in a statement to the staff in Washington, “he knew there was danger involved in it, but he didn’t let that dissuade him from volunteering for the job.”

As a field engineer, Ammon supervised the building of a much-needed hospital emergency facility and was assessing future construction of an orphanage in the remote Jaghuri district. Ammon was popular with Afghan children and often brought them pencils, paper, and candy. He was also the only American who fasted during Ramadan, a month of religious observance; he said it gave him credibility with all the Afghans. Scheduled to return home in March, Ammon extended his tour and remained in Afghanistan because he believed he was making a difference.

On May 20, 2008, Lt. Ammon was killed by a roadside bomb.

The need-based “Lieutenant Jeffrey Ammon Scholarship” will be awarded each year to one Nuclear Engineering or Radiation Health Physics student for academic achievement and service to our country. You may contribute to the scholarship fund online at campaignforosu.org (enter ‘Jeffrey Ammon Scholarship’ under ‘Other Designation.’). Or you may contact Kathy Park, OSU Foundation, at 1-866-218-8930.