Simpson College student Ethan Madden has been selected to receive the prestigious George Washington Carver Spirit of Innovation and Service Award at the annual George Washington Carver Symposium and Awards ceremony later this month.

The award is presented to a student by the Simpson faculty in the division of natural sciences, with Madden being a senior biology major who has performed on-campus research, presented research to NASA, and visited the University of Colorado to research human gene regulation.

The award is sponsored by the George Washington Carver Birthplace Association, which is a nonprofit cooperating association of the National Park Service at the George Washington Carver National Monument near Diamond, Missouri.

Madden is one of just five students in the country to receive the honor, which is accompanied by a $1,000 scholarship. The other recipients come from Iowa State University, Kansas State University, Lincoln University and Tuskegee University.