17 Named NSF Research Fellows
The National Science Foundation has awarded its prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship to 17 students who completed or will soon complete their undergraduate degrees at NC State. An additional 21 students received honorable mention in the annual competition.
The program is the oldest graduate fellowship of its kind, recognizing outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited institutions in the United States. Past fellows include numerous Nobel Prize winners, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Google founder Sergey Brin and “Freakonomics” co-author Steven Levitt.
Fellows benefit from a three-year annual stipend of $32,000 along with a $12,000 allowance for tuition and fees, opportunities for international research and professional development, and the freedom to conduct their own research at any accredited U.S. institution of graduate education they choose. Two thousand fellowships are awarded each year.
Four current seniors received fellowships:
- Matthew Draelos, chemistry and biochemistry major, Park Scholar, University Honors Program
- Alexander William Mauney, physics and mechanical engineering major, University Honors Program
- Gabrielle Marie Schroeder, biological sciences major, Fulbright Scholar
- Breanna Tillett, environmental sciences major
Two current graduate students with NC State undergraduate degrees received fellowships:
- Michael David McKnight, electrical engineering Ph.D. student, 2012 graduate in biomedical engineering, Park Scholar, University Honors Program
- Sean Patrick Mealin, computer science Ph.D. student, 2013 graduate in computer science
Fellowships were also awarded to 11 NC State graduates who are now in or proposing to enter graduate programs elsewhere:
- Christopher Abbott Reece Chapman, 2012 graduate in biomedical engineering, University Honors Program
- Rainikka Janell Corprew, 1995 graduate in psychology and 1997 graduate of the MPA program
- Andrew Robert Crothers, 2013 graduate in economics and chemical engineering, University Scholars Program
- Khalida Hendricks, 2013 graduate in applied math and physics
- Ian Thomas Hill, 2013 graduate in biochemistry and textile and color chemistry, Park Scholar, University Scholars Program, 2012 Goldwater Scholar
- Bryan Nathaniel Peele, 2013 graduate in mechanical engineering, Park Scholar, University Honors Program
- Ashlee Marie Plummer, 2012 graduate in chemistry, University Scholars Program
- Ty Noble Frederick Roach, 2009 graduate in biological sciences
- Andrew Pablo Santos, 2013 graduate in chemical engineering, University Honors Program, Astronaut Scholar
- Andre Kurepa Waschka, 2013 graduate in applied math, Park Scholar
- Anne Watson, 2012 graduate in physics and computer science, Park Scholar, University Honors Program
In addition, NC State welcomes eight NSF graduate research fellows who completed their undergraduate degrees at other institutions:
- Lars Dunaway, Ph.D. student in chemistry
- Joseph Houston Dycus, Ph.D. student in materials science and engineering
- Everett Dean Grimley, Ph.D. student in materials science and engineering
- Kristen Alayne Hopperstad, Ph.D. student in entomology
- Jami Nishelle Jackson, Ph.D. student in statistics
- Laura Lynn Lee, Ph.D. student in chemical engineering
- Casey Ruark, Ph.D. student in plant pathology
- Melissa Strait, Ph.D. student in applied mathematics
