A record six University of Iowa graduate students received prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowships, starting in the 2018-19 academic year. The University of Iowa’s previous high total was five graduate student winners, most recently in 2014-15.
This year’s six winners (pictured above from left to right) include Rae Corrigan (Biomedical Engineering), Amina Grant (Civil and Environmental Engineering), Katherine Lazenby (Chemistry), Andrea Malek (Teaching and Learning), Rachel Smoak (Civil and Environmental Engineering), and Mallory Tollefson (Biomedical Engineering).
The NSF GRFP is a highly competitive program and fellowship awardees are selected based on their potential to be the scientific leaders and innovators of the future.
UI graduate students continue to earn other prestigious fellowships that bring funding, networking opportunities, and flexibility to their graduate study.
American Association of University Women (AAUW)
Caroline Radesky, a graduate student in the History Department, was awarded the prestigious AAUW Dissertation Fellowship to complete her dissertation, Feeling Historical: Same-sex Desire and the Politics of History, 1880-1920.
AAUW’s American Fellowships Program has been in existence since 1888, making it the oldest non-institutional source of graduate funding for women in the United States. The program provides fellowships for women pursuing full-time study to complete dissertations, conducting postdoctoral research full time, or preparing research for publication for eight consecutive weeks.
American Heart Association
Sharon Idiga (Molecular Medicine) and Brittany Ripley (Biochemistry) earned American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowships. This fellowship enhances the research and clinical training of students who are matriculated in predoctoral or clinical health professional degree training programs.
Recipients intend to pursue careers as scientists, physician-scientists or other clinician-scientists, or related careers aimed at improving global cardiovascular health.
Ford Foundation
Elaina Aceves (Mathematics) received a Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship, which is given to students studying in research-based Ph.D. or Sc.D. programs.
In addition to the fellowship award, Ford Fellows are eligible to attend the Conference of Ford Fellows, a national conference of a select group of high-achieving scholars committed to diversifying the professoriate and using diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students.