Four electrical engineering students have been awarded scholarships  from the IEEE Power and Energy Society to pursue studies in power and energy.

The winners are Jeff Cloninger, Samar Ijaz, Pantha Moni and Dipto Moni. Winners were chosen based on their academic achievements, extracurricular commitments and focus on exploring the field of power and energy.

The winners, who each received $2,000,  were among 228 recipients chosen from more than 117 universities across the U.S. and Canada.

The scholarship is part of the IEEE PES Scholarship Plus Initiative, which is given by the Power and Energy Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, or IEEE. The program provides scholarships and career experience opportunities to qualifying electrical engineering undergraduates.

According to the IEEE PES program website, the U.S. electricity grid will face significant changes in coming years, including replacing aging infrastructure and incorporating smart grid and green technologies. A projected shortage in trained engineers in the power and energy industry is also expected in coming years.

"The PES Scholarship Plus Initiative™ brings together all stakeholders - government, industry, educators and students-to directly address the power and energy workforce shortage by attracting qualified engineering students to the field," the website states.

Scholarship winners are eligible for up to three years of scholarship support totaling $7,000.