Kelly Jacques (’20), a Ph.D. student in UNT’s College of Engineering, is the 2020 recipient of the U.S. Department of Defense’s SMART (Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation) scholarship, which will cover the cost of her tuition, books and living expenses. She also will participate in summer internships at DOD facilities across the U.S. and, upon graduation, she will be employed by the DOD. Jacques specializes in the field of tribology, the study of friction. During her undergraduate career at UNT, she conducted research into developing protective coatings that can be incorporated into the internal mechanics of a drone’s fuel injection system to reduce friction in the system, especially when using a lower quality fuel. Through this research, Jacques aims to make drones more efficient.