Two
West Virginia University
students will take their research projects to a new level and one NSF fellow
will bring her research to the
Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources thanks to prestigious
graduate fellowships from the National Science Foundation.
And they credit their success to the faculty who mentored and supported them.
Amanda Davis of Salem, is currently a master’s student and a Ruby Fellow in the
Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design
studying
animal food science under the advising of J.W. McFadden. She was awarded a
GRFP for life sciences-biochemistry and will attend Cornell University to study
wild and domestic ruminants (a group of mammals with four-chambered stomachs).
“I am honored to receive this fellowship,” Davis said. “This opportunity will allow
me to take the next step in my professional career and become a more independent
thinker and leader. I would like to thank my advisor Dr. Joseph McFadden for his
mentorship and support during my time at WVU. Without him, this opportunity would
not be possible.”
Lynnora Grant of Jefferson County, an
Honors
student and McNair Scholar, was awarded a GRFP for biomedical engineering and will attend
Rice University in the fall to pursue research on materials science and nano-engineering.
Grant, who graduated this past weekend with a bachelors in
Mechanical Engineering
, credits her success to the mentorship of professors in the
Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources.
"I consider it a blessing from God that as an undergraduate student, I've had the
opportunity to work under the guidance of Dr. Kostas Sieros and Maria Torres,” Grant said. “I have been molded into
the burgeoning researcher that I am today because of their invested time and attention
to my development."
While Grant and Davis will explore research at other institutions, GRFP fellow Kathrine
Curtin, a recent graduate of St. Vincent College, will come to WVU to pursue her
graduate studies under Nianqiang “Nick” Wu. Wu, a professor of mechanical and aerospace
engineering in the Statler College, is a widely cited scholar and award-winning
researcher in his field. He was recently named a
Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Tony Allen, an Honors student and May 2017 grad from the
Department of Mathematics and, along with Grant, a recent recipient of
a
2017 NSF Summer Research Fellowship with the National Institute for Standards and
Technology
, received honorable mention from the GRFP.
The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program supports outstanding graduate students
who are pursuing research-based masters and doctoral degrees in science, technology,
engineering and mathematics disciplines or in STEM education.
Fellows receive a stipend of $34,000 annually for three years, along with a $12,000
cost-of-education allowance for tuition and fees, opportunities for international
research and professional development and the freedom to conduct their research
at any accredited U.S. institution of graduate education they choose. This year,
the GRFP received more than 13,000 applications and made just 2,000 award offers.
Amanda Davis