More than two dozen University of Notre Dame students — 16 undergraduate students (six current and 10 alumni) and 10 graduate students — have been named National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellows, the most since 2016. Another eight — six undergraduate alumni and two graduate students — were singled out for honorable mention for the award.
Established in 1952, the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF-GRFP) helps students in NSF-backed STEM disciplines pursue research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited U.S. institutions. Fellows receive more than $40,000 in annual financial support. They also benefit from professional development and research opportunities through the program.
Generally, applicants work in conjunction with their advisers to create compelling personal statements and research plans. Notre Dame students can also consult experts with the Flatley Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement (CUSE) or the Graduate School’s Office of Grants and Fellowships.
“The GRFP is one of the National Science Foundation’s marquee programs. To have so many of our students succeed in such a competitive program says great things about the trajectory of Notre Dame’s graduate programs and the reputation of our students, our research and our faculty.”
“Congratulations to the 34 Notre Dame students and alumni who are being recognized by the National Science Foundation this year. This success can be attributed to the hard work and long hours they spent conducting research, the effort they put into enhancing their communities through their work, and the support they receive from dedicated faculty and staff,” said Emily Hunt, student engagement program manager with CUSE.
Tom Fuja, interim dean of the Graduate School, said, “The GRFP is one of the National Science Foundation’s marquee programs. To have so many of our students succeed in such a competitive program says great things about the trajectory of Notre Dame’s graduate programs and the reputation of our students, our research and our faculty.”
The 26 fellows are:
Undergraduate
- Nolan Fey — electrical and electronic engineering
- Colin McDonald — formal methods, verification and programming languages
- Audrey Miles — nuclear chemistry
- Alexa Mogan — cognitive psychology
- Jackson Vyletel — chemical engineering
- Austin Wyman — quantitative psychology
Undergraduate alumni
- AnneMarie Bryson — economics
- Carolyn Davin — economics
- Molly DeLuca — nuclear physics
- Emily Doyle — chemical engineering
- Neila Gross — bioengineering
- Mark Legendre — chemical engineering
- Marie McCusker — cognitive neuroscience
- Kimberly Riordan — chemistry of life processes
- Noah Springer — chemistry of life processes
- Honoka Suzuki — quantitative psychology
Graduate
- Cade Dembski — nuclear physics
- Emily DeWolf — chemical engineering
- Isabella Gimon — bioinformatics and computational biology
- Donghyun Jeong — bioengineering
- Martin Kilbane — mechanical engineering
- Bethany Oceguera — environmental engineering
- Manuel Rodriguez — sociology
- Connor Schmidt — chemistry of materials
- Simona Spiegel — medical anthropology
- Emma Thrift — environmental biology
The eight honorable mentions are:
Undergraduate alumni
- Aidan Cook — bioinformatics and computational biology
- Robert Gipson — chemical structure, dynamics and mechanism
- Leah Harmon — neurosciences
- Nicole Lukesh — biomedical engineering
- Tess Marvin — bioinformatics and computational biology
- Trent Robinett — hydrology
Graduate
- Gregory Durling — chemical synthesis
- Patrick Heffernan — ecology