Eighteen current and former University of Rochester students have been offered National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships, part of a federally sponsored program that provides up to three years of graduate study support for US students pursuing doctoral or research-based degrees in STEM, STEM education, and social science fields.
The list includes seven Rochester undergraduates, five graduate students, and six alumni studying at other institutions. Only one undergraduate was honored last year. Candidates must demonstrate outstanding scholarly promise and leadership potential. They apply the year before entering graduate school or during the first two years of graduate degree programs.
“Rochester students were wildly successful this year,” says Nick Vamivakas, dean of graduate and postdoctoral affairs. “We had recipients across the social and natural sciences, computer science, and engineering. The increase in our awardees and honorable mentions speaks to the creativity and research excellence of our students and highlights the exceptional mentoring they receive from our faculty.”
In addition to their research mentors, many undergraduates and alumni applying to graduate school received individualized guidance on their applications from Belinda Redden, director of fellowships, and fellowships counselor Juliet Sullivan.
“We are very pleased with the increased success of our undergraduate NSF applicants, nearly all of whom had worked with the Fellowships Office in some capacity before senior year,” Redden says. “It’s notable that four of the seven graduating senior NSF winners were all junior-year University nominees for the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship, a national STEM award whose application shares similarities with the NSF. Three were indeed selected as Goldwater Scholars; one also participated in the DAAD-RISE summer research internships in Germany in summer 2018, while another was also successful in garnering a highly coveted Fulbright student grant to the United Kingdom earlier this spring.”
Here is the list of recipients with University ties.
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Ethan Fahnestock ’21 receives Goldwater ScholarshipThe national scholarship was authorized by Congress to ensure a continuing source of highly qualified STEM professionals pursuing careers in research.
Fatima Zaidouni ’20 awarded Gates Cambridge ScholarshipThe award will allow the physics and astronomy major to pursue a postgraduate degree at the University of Cambridge in the UK beginning this fall.
