Sixteen students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have received prestigious awards from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). These students represent both undergraduate and graduate education, and their research covers several STEM-related fields, including biology, sociology, genetics, anthropology, and more. This year, twelve recipients are graduate students, and four are undergraduate students.
This fellowship is the oldest of its kind directly supporting graduate students in STEM. Its purpose is to not only ensure the quality and vitality in the scientific and engineering workforces of the United States but also to broaden and diversify the talent in STEM-related professions.
Many of this year’s recipients have research based in life and geosciences, highlighting the significant effect our students’ work has on our global environment.
Beth Mayer-Davis, dean of The Graduate School, noted that the recipients of this year’s awards are making fundamental strides in overcoming obstacles that affect the lives of people and the environment in not just our state, but around the globe. Their research represents many key areas of study across campus and exemplifies the power of our strategic initiative to strengthen our University’s global impact.
“The excellent work of these students highlights the depth of knowledge being generated through graduate education at UNC-Chapel Hill,” Mayer-Davis said. “It is this kind of impactful research that sets Carolina students apart as our next generation of leaders.”
The UNC-Chapel Hill chapter of the Materials Research Society (MRS) is an organization that works to connect graduate students to industry and academic professionals. They partner with The Graduate School to offer several events to help students develop key skills and provide opportunities to network with scientific professionals. One such opportunity is the NSF GRFP peer-review workshop. This annual peer-review workshop provides senior undergraduates and first- and second-year graduate students an environment to meet one-on-one with NSF GRFP fellows.
The NSF GRFP launched in 1952. Federal funding through a three-year stipend provides educational support, professional development and international research opportunities for recipients.
UNC-Chapel Hill graduate student recipients of the NSF GRFP
- Andrew Boyle (Department of Physics and Astronomy; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Henry Dieckhaus (UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy)
- Abigail Foes (Department of Biostatics; UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health)
- Georgina Gemayel (Department of Geography and Environment; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Camryn Gloor (Department of Chemistry; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Lauren Hutchinson (Department of Chemistry; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Micah Hysong (Curriculum in Genetics and Molecular Biology; College of Arts and Sciences; UNC School of Medicine)
- Athena Owirodu (Department of Sociology; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Ryan Salcido (Curriculum in Genetics and Molecular Biology; College of Arts and Sciences, UNC School of Medicine)
- Gates Schneider (Biological & Biomedical Sciences Program; UNC School of Medicine)
- Samuel Weaver (Department of Chemistry; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Adriana Wisniewski (Department of Anthropology; College of Arts and Sciences)
Graduate Student Honorable Mentions
- Corina Damian (Department of Pharmacology; UNC School of Medicine)
- Katherine Degner (Neuroscience curriculum; UNC School of Medicine)
- Kieran Fitzmaurice (Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering; UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health)
- Skylar Grimsley (Department of Pathology; UNC School of Medicine)
- Samantha Hamontree (Department of Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences; College of Art and Sciences)
- Brittney Haney (Department of Chemistry; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Devon Leimkuhl (Department of Chemistry; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Ethan Madden (Curriculum in Genetics and Molecular Biology; College of Arts and Science, UNC School of Medicine)
- Rachel Miller (Department of Pharmacology; UNC School of Medicine)
- Alexandra Ro (Department of Sociology; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Michael Rodriguez (Department of Chemistry; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Emily Speciale (Department of Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences; College of Art and Sciences)
- Hayli Spence-Osorio (Neuroscience curriculum; UNC School of Medicine)
- Nazaret Suazo (Department of Psychology and Neuroscience; College of Arts and Sciences)
- Rachel Szymanski (Curriculum in Genetics and Molecular Biology; College of Arts and Sciences; UNC School of Medicine)