Students, Alumni Awarded NSF Research Fellowships

Five Harvey Mudd College seniors are recipients of National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships, which recognize outstanding students pursuing advanced degrees in science and engineering. Six recent Harvey Mudd graduates also received the prestigious fellowships.

Two seniors and seven alumni received honorable mentions.

The fellowship supports graduate students pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited U.S. institutions. Recipients are awarded three years of research support, including an annual $34,000 stipend and $12,000 cost-of-education allowance. Fellows also have access to collaborative research opportunities abroad through the Graduate Research Opportunities Worldwide initiative and professional career development with federal internships provided through the Graduate Research Internship Program. This year, the NSF awarded 2,000 GRFP fellowships from 17,000 applicants.

The undergraduate fellows are undertaking a range of post-graduation endeavors. Reyna Hulett (studying research in algorithms and theoretical foundations) plans to intern at DropBox before attending graduate school at Stanford, Berkeley or University of Washington. Jennifer Rogers (bioinformatics) will join Microsoft as a data scientist. Madeleine Weinstein (algebra, number theory and combinatorics) will attend UC Berkeley’s PhD program in pure mathematics. Jim Wu (physics of living systems) will pursue a graduate degree in theoretical/experimental biophysics at Princeton University. Rowan Zellers (robotics and computer vision) is considering several graduate school options.

For meritorious applicants who do not receive fellowship awards, the NSF awards honorable mention, considered a significant academic achievement. Seniors Shannon Wetzler (chemical measurement and imaging) and Matthew Dannenberg (computational and data-enabled science) each received an honorable mention, as did the following alumni:

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program helps ensure the vitality and diversity of the nation’s base of science and engineering candidates. Fellows are seen as crucial to maintaining and advancing the nation’s technological infrastructure and national security as well as contributing to the economic well being of society at large.

Program participants are expected to become experts who contribute significantly to research, education and innovation in the STEM fields. Former NSF Fellows include numerous individuals who have made transformative breakthroughs in science and engineering, become leaders in their chosen careers and been honored as Nobel laureates.