April 3, 2020

Three Drexel students and recent alumni received the prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and six received Honorable Mentions. These students were selected from approximately 13,000 applicants nationwide.

We are so proud of these students, who have demonstrated exemplary commitment to their research. We also congratulate their faculty mentors who have given them guidance and support along the way.

Drexel's 2020 NSF Graduate Research Fellows are:

Nicholas Trainor
BS/MS Chemical Engineering/Materials Science and Engineering ’19, Honors
Graduate Institution: Pennsylvania State University

Sarah Malik
BS Business and Engineering ’20, Honors
Drexel Faculty Mentor: Antonios Kontsos

Shawn Mengel
BS/MS Chemical Engineering ’20, Honors
Drexel Faculty Mentor: Aaron Fafarman

2020 NSF GRFP Honorable Mentions

Ashley Opalka
PhD student Neuroscience
Drexel Faculty Mentor: Dong Wang
Undergraduate Institution: University of Scranton

Philip Weigel
BS Physics '20, Honors
Drexel Faculty Mentor: Michelle Dolinski

Johannes Wagner
BS Physics '20, Honors
Drexel Faculty Mentor: Naoko Kurahashi Neilson

Talaial Alina
BS Chemical Engineering ’20, Honors
Drexel Faculty Mentors: Kara Spiller, Maureen Tang
 

Joseph Tomlinson
BS Physics '18
Graduate Institution: Pennsylvania State University

 
Mary Doan
BS Biological Sciences ’19
Drexel Faculty Mentors: Nathaniel W. Snyder, A. Denise Garcia

Special thanks to the faculty, students, and alumni who participated in campus review and outreach during the summer and fall terms to help students strengthen their applications:

• Natalia Broz, Associate Director for Graduate Programs, School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems
• Shannon Capps, Assistant Professor, Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering
• Evangelia Chrysikou, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences
• Simon Danner, Research Instructor, Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy, College of Medicine
• Wen-Jun Gao, Professor, Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy, College of Medicine
• Grace Hsuan, Professor, Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering
• Charles Lane, Professor, Department of Physics, College of Arts and Sciences
• Daniel Marenda, Associate Dean of Research and Associate Professor, Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences
• Steve May, Professor and Graduate Advisor, Materials Science & Engineering
• Mira Olson, Associate Professor, Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering
• Karol Osipowicz, Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences
• Catherine von Reyn, Assistant Professor, School of Biomedical Engineering, Science & Health Systems
• Gordon Richards, Professor, Department of Physics, College of Arts and Sciences
• Jacob Russell, Professor, Department of Biology/Biodiversity Earth & Environmental Science, College of Arts and Sciences
• Aleksandra Sarcevic, Associate Professor of Information Science, College of Computing & Informatics
• Caroline Schauer, Professor and Associate Dean of Research and Faculty Affairs, Materials Science & Engineering, College of Engineering
• Adrian Shieh, Associate Teaching Professor, School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems
• Kara Spiller, Associate Professor, School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems
• Yinghui Zhong, Associate Professor, School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) helps ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science and engineering in the United States and reinforces its diversity. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions.

As the oldest graduate fellowship of its kind, the GRFP has a long history of selecting recipients who achieve high levels of success in their future academic and professional careers. The reputation of the GRFP follows recipients and often helps them become life-long leaders that contribute significantly to both scientific innovation and teaching. Past fellows include numerous Nobel Prize winners, U.S. Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu, Google founder, Sergey Brin and Freakonomics co-author, Steven Levitt.

Fellows share in the prestige and opportunities that become available when they are selected. Fellows benefit from a three-year annual stipend of $34,000 along with a $12,000 cost of education allowance for tuition and fees (paid to the institution), 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.

NSF Fellows are anticipated to become knowledge experts who can contribute significantly to research, teaching, and innovations in science and engineering. These individuals are 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.

For more information about the NSF GRFP, contact the Center for Scholar Development or visit nsfgrfp.org.