Thirty-three students — both graduate and undergraduate — at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have received prestigious awards from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) for their research in STEM-related fields, including chemistry, geography, neuroscience, and more.
Twenty-three recipients’ graduate degree programs are housed in the College of Arts and Sciences. Several recipients come from highly ranked schools across the University, including the UNC School of Medicine, the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and the UNC School of Education.
Beth Mayer-Davis, dean of The Graduate School, said this year’s recipients come from key areas of graduate research that drive the creation of new knowledge to solve major challenges of our day and position our state to thrive.
“These students represent the breadth of graduate education at UNC-Chapel Hill,” Mayer-Davis said. “This prestigious recognition is part of what puts Carolina’s students at the forefront of research with impact. I am thrilled that our students’ curiosity has led them to this achievement.”
These highly competitive fellowships recognize and support outstanding students who aim to pursue research-based master’s or doctoral degrees. Fellows receive federal funding by way of a three-year stipend, educational support, and opportunities for professional development and international research. The fellowship began in 1952.
Workshops prepare for successful applications
This year’s recipients include Anneliese Brei and Madelina Marquez, both of whom are members of The Graduate School’s Royster Society of Fellows program, the University’s premier doctoral recruitment fellowship. Brei and Marquez attended several NSF grant proposal workshops, offered by The Graduate School and the Materials Research Society in fall 2022.
“Each speaker offered expert guidance on topics that ranged from general program details to specifics about applicants’ unique situations. As participants, we had multiple opportunities to brainstorm ideas for our essays,” Brei said. “Truly, our common goal was to help each other succeed. I am grateful to both the organizers and to the participants who zealously fostered this collaborative environment.”
Marquez said the workshops helped demystify the application process.
“[A] hugely beneficial aspect of the workshop was getting to meet and work with other GRFP winners – I had two of them help read over my personal statements and they provided a lot of helpful comments and feedback,” Marquez said.
UNC-Chapel Hill student recipients of the NSF GRFP
- Madyson Barber (Department of Physics and Astronomy; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Jarvis Benson (Department of Sociology; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Anneliese Brei (Department of Computer Science; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Megan Cardenas (Department of Psychology and Neuroscience; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Samantha Clouthier (Department of Chemistry; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Glory Dan-Dukor (Pharmaceutical Sciences; UNC School of Medicine)
- Justine Ann Drappeau (Department of Chemistry; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Guadalupe Lourdes Duran (Department of Physics and Astronomy; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Shedrick Garrett (Department of Psychology and Neuroscience; College of Arts and Sciences)
- McKenzie Grundy (Pharmacology; UNC School of Medicine)
- Sahar Kathryn Habib (UNC School of Education)
- Kaitlyn Hohmeier (Department of Mathematics; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Nichole Margaret Hondrogiannis (Department of Cell Biology and Physiology; UNC School of Medicine)
- Kaitlin Hope Joshua (Department of Sociology; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Dhuvarakesh Karthikeyan (Bioinformatics & Computational Biology; UNC School of Medicine)
- Isaac Linn (Chancellor’s Science Scholars Program; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Madelina Marquez (Department of Biology; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Don McTaggart (Department of Chemistry; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Caroline Michelle Coxwell Mohler (Department of Chemistry; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Ayana Monroe (Chancellor’s Science Scholars Program; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Michael Nisenzon (Department of Statistics & Operations Research; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Preethi Saravanan (Department of Anthropology; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Sophie Shan (Department of Biostatistics; UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health)
- Rachel Sharp (Neuroscience curriculum; UNC School of Medicine)
- Michelle Shipkova (Department of Psychology and Neuroscience; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Eva Mei Shouse (Department of Biology; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Evan Stair (Department of Chemistry; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Olivia Steiner (Department of Chemistry; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Honoka Suzuki (Department of Psychology and Neuroscience; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Lucy Katherine Tantum (Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering; UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health)
- Charles Teeples (Department of Chemistry; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Sydney Emily Towell (Department of Chemistry; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Bryttani Wooten (Department of Geography; College of Arts and Sciences)