Friday, April 3, 2020
Eleven students currently affiliated UC Santa Barbara’s College of Engineering have received graduate research fellowships from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). NSF fellows receive three years of financial support, or roughly $138,000, in the form of an annual stipend of $34,000 and an annual cost-of-education allowance of $12,000 paid to the graduate degree-granting institution for tuition and fees. Fellows also receive opportunities for international research and professional development.
The GRFP is the nation’s oldest fellowship program that recognizes and supports graduate students pursuing research-based graduate degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The program is intended to ensure the vitality and diversity of the nation’s scientific and engineering workforce, inspiring future contributions to research, teaching, and scientific innovation. Students can apply to the program before beginning or early in their graduate studies. They may accept the NSF fellowship if they have not accepted and are not already supported by another federal graduate fellowship.
This year, 2,076 students were offered fellowships and 1,827 received honorable mention. The NSF issues honorable mention as an academic recognition to meritorious applicants who did not receive fellowship awards. Twelve students, who are either currently enrolled at UCSB or received their undergraduate degrees at UCSB, received honorable mention in 2020.
Of the more than 50,000 fellows who have received GRFP funding since 1952, 42 have gone on to become Nobel laureates, and more than 450 have become members of the National Academy of Sciences.
UCSB students who received 2020 fellowships by NSF’s GRFP
Name Field of Study
Carmi, Meital Aeronautical/Aerospace Eng.
Chau, Allison L Materials Engineering
Finzel, Jordan Chemical Engineering
Foley, Emily Eileen Materials Research
Mayer, Justin Materials Research
Pace, Gordon Taylor Chemical Engineering
Pretti, Evan Jack Chemical Engineering
Reynolds, Colleen Mary Materials Research
Unger, Colin Dirk Computer Security and Privacy
Vincent, Rebecca Materials Research
Xiao, Charles Mechanical Engineering
UCSB CoE graduate students (8) who received honorable mention
Name Field of Study
Dow, Liam Bioengineering
Fisher, William Materials Research
Guo, Joel Wei Optical Engineering
Kayede, Emmanuel Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Maravilla, Julian Adolfo Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Nguyen, Howie Materials Research
Russell, Ryan Shigeo Materials Research
Warnock, Samuel Materials Research
Honorable mentions (4) who earned bachelor’s degrees at UCSB
Name Field of Study
Bousse, Nicholas Mechanical Engineering
McBride, David Chemical Engineering
Sabin, Jeanne Environmental Engineering
Wu, Haoyang Chemical Engineering
Eleven CoE students received graduate research fellowships from the National Science Foundation.