Troy, N.Y. - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Lally School of Management and Technology has awarded incoming MBA student Azmat Ahmad its prestigious Herman Family Fellowship for Women in Entrepreneurship. The prize supports up to two females enrolled in the Lally School's MBA program each year, and helps them pursue their entrepreneurial interests.

Ahmad was selected for the honor based on her entrepreneurial spirit, leadership potential, technical proficiency, work experience, and strong academic credentials. She will receive a full tuition waiver during her career at Rensselaer, and a teaching assistantship that carries stipends of $12,017 and $16,000 during her first and second years of study, respectively. The Lally School will also provide her with career mentoring and access to a network of professional women entrepreneurs, and enable her to obtain relevant business experience.

"Ms. Ahmad's extensive background in technology and business - both in the United States and in various spots around the world - makes her the perfect recipient of the Herman Family Fellowship," said Denis Fred Simon, dean of the Lally School. "We are truly excited about having her as a member of our new MBA class. There is an ideal fit between her career aspirations and the Lally School's management curriculum, which is designed to produce entrepreneurial managers adept at advancing business through innovation. She has a lot to share with her fellow students and Lally School colleagues, and we all look forward to working with her."

Prior to coming to Rensselaer, Ahmad served as a programmer for the Prince Sultan Cardiac Center (PSCC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In the position, she assisted in the modeling, design, development, and implementation of several personnel and medical information databases; provided technical support for PC applications hospital-wide; and helped maintain the software and hardware used by the hospital. At the time she left the PSCC, she was involved in the purchasing of a turnkey hospital information system.

Ahmad's other work experience includes stints as an assistant systems analyst for Tata Consultancy Services in Bombay, India, and as an acquisitions/systems administrator for New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (New Mexico Tech) in Socorro, New Mexico. The positions further strengthened her skills in database analysis, modeling, design, development, and implementation; software creation; electronic accounting; database user training; Web page development; programming; and teaching. Ahmad also worked briefly for a Web-consulting venture in India, and volunteered to re-engineer a database for a nonprofit group called Hands On Memphis.

Ahmad was born and raised in India. In her early teens, she moved to northern Saudi Arabia to attend junior high school in Rahima. After finishing her pre-college schooling at Marymount International School in London, Ahmad enrolled at New Mexico Tech, where she went on to complete her bachelor of science in computer science degree.

"I am honored and thrilled to have received this year's Herman Fellowship, because it really gives me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to combine my interests in technology, entrepreneurship and social change," Ahmad said. "I know I will learn a lot, and I look forward to contributing positively to Rensselaer and the community throughout my MBA studies."

In April 2001, the family of Karen and Michael Herman '62 pledged $1 million to Rensselaer to make it the first technological university where students in all fields learn what it takes for companies to succeed in the 21st century. The grant was earmarked to provide start-up funds to infuse entrepreneurship across all curricula at Rensselaer - not simply to develop new courses, but to give an entrepreneurial thrust to the entire expanse of current programs in management, science, engineering, architecture, information technology, and the humanities.

About Rensselaer's Lally School
Rensselaer's Lally School of Management and Technology was founded in 1963 as an integral part of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the nation's oldest degree-granting technological university. Building on Rensselaer's heritage of more than 175 years of leadership in science and engineering, the Lally School is dedicated to advancing business through innovation. The Lally School's curriculum is designed to produce leaders who combine creative passion with the ability to integrate technology across business functions. The faculty emphasizes the value of hands-on experience available through campus resources such as the Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship and the nation's first on-campus business incubator. Rensselaer's Lally School offers graduate and undergraduate degree programs in management, doctoral programs in management and technology, an Executive MBA program, and a joint Sino-U.S. MBA for companies operating in China. For more information on the Lally School, go to www.lallyschool.rpi.edu.

Contact: Caroline Jenkins
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