Three graduate students and eight undergraduates from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have been offered Graduate Research Fellowships from the National Science Foundation (NSF). An additional thirty students have been accorded Honorable Mention.
Launched in 1952 shortly after Congress established NSF, the Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) program represents the nation's oldest continuous investment in the U.S. scientific workforce. The program recruits high-potential, early-career researchers and supports their graduate training in science, technology, social science, engineering, mathematics, and STEM education.
Awardees receive three years of support. Support includes a $37,000 annual stipend, a $16,000 cost-of-education allowance that covers tuition and fees, and access to the INTERN program, which supports research internships in any sector of the U.S. economy.
Dana Johnson, director of external fellowships in the Graduate College says, “Congratulations to this year’s awardees and honorable mentions. It is particularly commendable that these students achieved this distinction given that, this year, the NSF awarded the lowest number of Graduate Research Fellowships since 2008. Our awardees and honorable mentions therefore have additional reason to be proud. Their recognition this year is a testament to the exceptional merit of their applications and the potential they hold as future scientific leaders.”
Listed below are the awardees and honorable mention designees from the U of I. A nationwide list of recipients is available on the NSF-GRF FastLane website.
Awardees:
- Curtis Althaus (Chemistry)
- Dai Hung Che (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
- Daniel Feng (Computer Science)
- Katie Joy Galletta (Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences)
- Ayush R. Khot (Computer Science and Physics)
- Benjamin D. Kim (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
- Jeffrey Liu (Mathematics and Computer Science)
- Abigail McDonnell (Atmospheric Sciences)
- Riley Trendler (Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering)
- John Wu (Computer Science)
- Andy Zhou (Computer Science)
Honorable Mentions:
- Justin J. Ahrens (Chemistry)
- Dean Edward Alvarez (Computer Science)
- Alysia Michi Berglund (Psychology)
- Laura Bronwen Bickart (Chemistry)
- Abiela Meek Bradley (Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering)
- Brook Burbridge (Physics)
- Zoe N. Caryl (Atmospheric Sciences)
- Annabella DeBernardo (Chemistry)
- Aneesh Durg (Mathematics and Computer Science)
- Alice Gao (Materials Science and Engineering)
- Alexi Gladstone (Computer Science)
- Paul Seth Harmston (Physics)
- Gavin Hazen (Chemistry)
- Patrick Hester (Bioengineering)
- Kaitlin M. Karl (Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior)
- Penelope G. Kovakas (Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering)
- Joshua Leung (Chemistry)
- Andrew K. Lum (Materials Science and Engineering)
- Maria C. Lusardi (Computer Science)
- Emma R. Mize (Chemistry)
- Javier Nieto (Computer Science)
- John Pohovey (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
- Liam Reynolds (Agricultural and Biological Engineering)
- Irina S. Shenogina (Physics)
- Luke S. Sztajnkrycer (Psychology)
- Garrett Q. Trimble (Chemistry)
- Carleigh B. Wachtel (Geology)
- Alan L. Wang (Computer Science)
- Hayley Woodrich (Geology)
- Christopher Yi Xu (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
Students interested in applying to the NSF-GRFP in fall 2025 should consult the NSF-GRF listing in the Graduate College's Fellowship Finder database and are invited to take advantage of the NSF-GRF Summer Writing Lab, one-on-one proposal advising, and other services offered by the Graduate College Office of External Fellowships.