11 Woodruff School Students Awarded NSF Fellowships
April 21, 2021
The National Science Foundation has awarded prestigious graduate research fellowships to 11 Woodruff School students pursuing graduate degrees in fields that include mechanical engineerng, robotics, medical physics, and bioengineering. Nine of the awardees are current graduate students while two are undergraduates who will be pursuing graduate degrees at other institutions.
The NSF graduate research fellowships are extremely competitive and students are only able to apply one time during their academic careers. Recipients receive three years of financial support that includes a $34,000 annual stipend as well as $12,000 per year to cover educational costs including tuition and fees. They also gain access to opportunities for professional development available to NSF-supported graduate students.
“I am excited to have received the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship as it will allow me to conduct research that can make a difference in the way we image, diagnose, and treat disease," said medical physics sudent Caroline Filan. "Additionally, I am honored to be able to serve as a leader and inspiration for female engineers at Georgia Tech and in my community.”
More than 12,000 students pursuing a research-based master’s degree or Ph.D. applied for the fellowships this year, and the NSF awarded approximately 2,000 nationwide.
Below are the Woodruff School’s 2021 NSF Graduate Fellowship recipients.
Robert Caraway
- First-year Ph.D. student in Mechanical Engineering
- Advisor: Jerry Qi
- Area of Research: Additive manufacturing, primarily using light-activated polymer resins.
- What this fellowship means to me: “I am eager to use my NSF fellowship to serve my community, my nation, and the world by advancing the body of knowledge of high resolution 3D printing through the use of grayscale digital light processing to induce anisotropic properties within parts. It is a great honor to be selected from among the outstanding applicants here at Georgia Tech and around the country.”
Joshua Fernandez
- Second- year Ph.D. student in Robotics
- Advisor: Anirban Mazumdar
- Area of Research: Wearable robotics to enhance human performance
- What this fellowship means to me: "This Fellowship will give me the financial support and academic freedom to continue to pursue my interest in robotic research."
Caroline Filan
- First-year Ph.D. student in Medical Physics
- Advisor: Francisco Robles
- Area of Research: Medical imaging
- What this fellowship means to me: “I am excited to have received the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship as it will allow me to conduct research that can make a difference in the way we image, diagnose, and treat disease. Additionally, I am honored to be able to serve as a leader and inspiration for female engineers at Georgia Tech and in my community.”
Jeong Hun (JJ) Lee
- Undergraduate who will be pursuing Ph.D. in Robotics at Carnegie Melon
- Undergraduate research advisors: Chengzhi Shi and Julien Meaud
- Area of Research: Acoustics & Dynamics
- What this fellowship means to me: “This fellowship is extremely meaningful to me because I now have avenues to pursue potentially high-impact research that may not have been possible without this fellowship funding. It also confirmed to me that you don’t necessarily need to accumulate the highest accolades or most prestigious experiences to get funded – passion in your research interest and a consistent work ethic can get you there.”
Jennifer Leestma
- Second-year Ph.D. student in Robotics
- Advisor: Co-advised by Greg Sawicki and Aaron Young
- Area of Research: Human augmentation and rehabilitation engineering
- What this fellowship means to me: “The GRFP will provide me the support and flexibility to investigate research questions that I’m interested in, specifically in the areas of wearable robotics and human balance augmentation.”
Andrew Marsh
- Second-year Ph.D. student in Mechanical Engineering
- Advisor: Ellen Mazumdar
- Area of Research: High speed fluids, combustion
- What this fellowship means to me: “The NSF graduate fellowship means that I can focus on research I am passionate about without having to worry about personal funding.”
Daniel Martinez
- Second-year Ph.D. student in Robotics
- Advisor: Jun Ueda
- Area of Research: Medical robotics
- What this fellowship means to me: “This fellowship is an opportunity for me to have the freedom and flexibility to pursue the research I am truly passionate about.”
Jacob Peloquin
- Undergraduate senior pursuing Ph.D. at Duke University
- Advisor: Ken Gall at Duke University
- Areas of Research: Photopolymer 3D printing, machine learning
- What this fellowship means to me: “The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship provides me with the freedom and resources necessary to pursue more challenging and rewarding research at the intersection of materials, additive manufacturing, and machine learning."
Keaton Scherpereel
- Second-year Ph.D. student in Robotics
- Advisors: Aaron Young and Omer Inan
- Area of Research: Wearable robotics- exoskeletons and prosthetics
- What this fellowship means to me: “Receiving the NSF-GRFP will allow me to continue to combine my passion for making tangible human impacts with my desire to pursue novel ideas that have yet to be explored.”
Gwen Wang
- Second-year Ph.D. student in Mechanical Engineering
- Advisor: Ellen Mazumdar
- Area of Research: Optical diagnostics for combustion and high speed flows.
- What this fellowship means to me: “I am very grateful to receive the NSF Graduate Fellowship. It will allow me to keep working on research I am excited about and influence the energy field meaningfully.”
Nathan Zavanelli
- First-year Ph.D. student in Bioengineering
- Advisor: W. Hong Yeo
- Area of Research: Soft robotics
- What this fellowship means to me: "I am very grateful for my advisor Professor Yeo's support and mentorship and the opportunity to continue my research with a wonderful group of dedicated and compassionate colleagues."