NSF Recognizes Seven U of A Students and Recent Alumni With Fellowships

Four U of A students and three recent alumni have been selected to receive Graduate Research Fellowships from the National Science Foundation.

The highly competitive award, considered one of the nation’s top academic honors, is given to students pursuing graduate studies in science, technology, engineering or mathematics fields and recognizes academic excellence and the potential that each student will make to their field and to society at large. 

According to the National Science Foundation, more than 12,000 students apply each year for Graduate Research Fellowships. Approximately 2,000 receive awards, which they take to U.S. graduate institutions of their choice. 

Each fellowship is worth $37,000 per year and can be renewed for up to three years. Along with the renewable stipend, each student’s institution will receive $12,000 per year to offset tuition costs, bringing the total amount of funding awarded to these seven students to over $1,000,000.This year’s NSF Graduate Research Fellows are:

• Alexis Applequist, biomedical engineering
• Mary Jia, biomedical engineering
• Carson Molder, computer engineering
• Ivris Raymond, computer engineering
• Joseph Roll, condensed matter physics
• Sanidhya Tripathi, biomedical engineering
• Jarrod Varnell, evolutionary biology

Since the program’s inception in 1952, 162 U of A students and alumni have received this prestigious fellowship.

“Research is a central part of the University of Arkansas’ land-grant mission,” said Chancellor Charles Robinson. “Our faculty are engaged in the very highest levels of discovery that result in new knowledge and innovation that benefit our state and the larger society. Faculty include both undergraduate and graduate students in this engaged learning, and the result is that our students then have the experience and training to win scholarships as competitive as the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Each of these amazing students is committed to a career that will focus on research. That’s great for them and certainly good for all of us.”

“Our NSF Graduate Research Fellows and those recognized as honorable mentions deserve kudos for their ambition and for their dedication,” said Provost Terry Martin. “The funding will not only support them through their graduate school years, but will also set them up for success in a variety of ways as they launch their professional careers. I am delighted to see the tribute these students give to their faculty mentors. Research is truly a collaborative effort. Congratulations to all.”

NSF GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS

ALEXIS APPLEQUIST

Alexis Applequist graduated with a B.S. in biomedical engineering in 2021. She conducted research with Morten Jensen and Kartik Balachandran, both associate professors of biomedical engineering. 

She also conducted industry research at a medical technology startup company in Bangalore, India. Currently a Ph.D. student in biomedical engineering at the U of A, she is developing a heart-on-chip platform, Coco Chip, to be used as a novel drug screening device in the pharmaceutical industry. She plans a career in industry research and development with the goal of minimizing the socioeconomic gap in healthcare worldwide.  

“I am extremely honored to have been selected as an NSF GRFP recipient,” Applequist said. “My experiences in India, researching with professors Jensen and Balachandran, and leading departmental initiatives allowed me to highlight my dedication to research in my application. I am very thankful to the University of Arkansas biomedical engineering faculty and their continued support.”

MARY JIA

Mary Jia is graduating with an honors B.S.Bm.E. in biomedical engineering in the spring of 2023. She is a Bodenhamer Fellow conducting research with Christopher Nelson, an assistant professor in biomedical engineering, and is investigating CRISPR editing tools using orthogonal sequencing methods for curative rare genetic disease therapeutics. In her graduate studies, she will continue research in molecular therapeutics.

“I am immensely grateful for the support I received from my mentors at the University of Arkansas,” Jia said. “My training as a researcher in the Nelson lab and as an educator with professor (Mostafa) Elsaadany will be invaluable in preparing me for a future in academia. I hope to use this opportunity to generate research worthy of such an honor.”

CARSON MOLDER

Carson Molder graduated summa cum laude with a B.S.Comp.E. in computer engineering in 2021. Molder was an Honors College Fellow and performed undergraduate research with data science professor Justin Zhan on using deep learning to improve the analysis of medical images. 

Currently a Ph.D. student at the University of Texas at Austin, he is now researching ways to use machine learning to accelerate the memory interface in computer hardware. 

Molder said, “The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship will be a game-changer for my Ph.D. studies, and I am incredibly thankful and honored to have been selected. Professor Zhan and my amazing support network at the U of A not only helped me earn the fellowship, but also set me up to be a successful graduate student and researcher, and I am grateful for their support over the years.”

IVRIS RAYMOND

Ivris Raymond is a senior in honors computer engineering and will be graduating in spring 2023. With the support of an Honors College Undergraduate Research Grant, she conducted undergraduate research with Alexander Nelson, assistant professor of computer science and computer engineering. 

Raymond will pursue a Ph.D. at the University of Michigan in the fall, researching heterogeneous computer architectures for novel devices. She plans to pursue a career in academia after her graduate studies. 

“It is an honor to have won an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship,” Raymond said. “I owe a huge thank-you to my adviser, professor Nelson, for mentoring me through my undergraduate research, and to my recommenders and mentors, professors Jia Di and David Andrews. Their support of my education has been immeasurable.”

JOSEPH ROLL

Joseph Roll will graduate in spring 2023 with an honors B.S. in physics (computational concentration) and a B.S. in mathematics (pure concentration). He performed undergraduate research with Salvador Barraza-Lopez, associate professor of physics, and will attend the University of Texas at Austin to pursue a Ph.D. in physics researching theoretical condensed matter physics. He plans to pursue a career in academia working as a physics professor.

“I am truly honored to receive this NSF GRFP award,” Roll said. “Studying with professor Barraza-Lopez has fully prepared me for graduate school. I am grateful to him, and to the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards, for their constant input and advice throughout this application process.” 

SANIDHYA TRIPATHI

Sanidhya Tripathi graduated cum laude with a B.S. in biomedical engineering in May 2022. He conducted undergraduate research in the lab of Narasimhan Rajaram, associate professor of biomedical engineering. 

Currently a Ph.D. student in biomedical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, he is developing optical imaging technologies to aid in the detection and treatment of skin cancer. He plans a career in academia or industry working at the intersection of biotech and business.

“It is an absolute honor to have been selected as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow and has been a goal of mine for many years,” Tripathi said. “All of my success is attributed to the excellent mentorship I received at the U of A from professors Rajaram and Tim Muldoon, as well as many other faculty members in the Biomedical Engineering Department who helped me develop both inside and outside the classroom.”

JARROD VARNELL

Jarrod Varnell graduated summa cum laude from the U of A with a B.S. in biology and biochemistry in 2022. As an Honors College Fellow, he studied the genetics underlying butterfly mate preferences with Erica Westerman, associate professor of biology. 

Currently a Ph.D. student in evolutionary biology at Cornell, he researches the genetic and neurobiological factors underpinning behavioral and wing pattern phenotypes in butterflies. In the future, he hopes to establish his own lab at an institution where he can continue researching the molecular bases for behavior. 

“I am honored to have been selected as an NSF graduate research fellow,” Varnell said. “My research in professor Westerman’s lab prepared me wonderfully for my graduate studies, and her support was crucial for me when I was preparing my NSF Fellowship application. I am incredibly thankful to her and my former lab mates for their support and mentorship.”

NSF GRADUATE HONORABLE MENTIONS

Isabella DeAnglis is studying disease ecology, conservation biology and wildlife management. Her Ph.D. research involves studying how roost habitat and behavior affects cellular immunity, stress physiology, ectoparasite abundance and ultimately bloodborne pathogen prevalence in bats living in close association with humans in Kenya. She received her undergraduate degree from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

Victoria Norman is a Ph.D. student working on research with adviser Woodrow Shew, associate professor of physics, studying the neural underpinnings of motor abnormalities associated with Rett Syndrome. Her goal for the future is to become a physics professor. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Scranton.

ABOUT NSF GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS

Since 1952, the National Science Foundation has awarded the highly competitive Graduate Research Fellowship to almost 50,000 students in the STEM fields, selected from more than 500,000 applicants. 

Forty of the GRFs have become Nobel laureates, and over 440 have become members of the National Academy of Sciences. GRFP has a high rate of doctorate completion, with more than 70% of students completing their degrees within 11 years. The graduate fellowship program is one of the oldest and most highly competitive, with roots in the foundation’s original 1950 charter. 

Each year, approximately 2,000 applicants are selected through a rigorous NSF peer-review process. Each grant supports graduate study that leads to a research-based master’s or doctoral degree. NSF Graduate Research Fellows are promising young mathematicians, scientists and engineers who are expected to pursue lifelong careers marked by significant contributions to research, teaching and industrial applications in science, mathematics and engineering.

Office of Nationally Competitive Awards: University of Arkansas students and recent alumni interested in applying for scholarships and fellowships such as the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship should contact the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards at awards@uark.edu or 479-575-3771. More information is available at awards.uark.edu.

This story also appeared in the University of Arkansas News publication.