The National Science Foundation has recognized eight LSU students and recent graduates as 2014 Graduate Research Fellows, while three other students received honorable mention. This marks the most LSU students to receive the fellowship in a single year.
Graduate students who receive the NSF Graduate Fellowship are granted a stipend of $32,000 annually for three years along with a $12,000 scholarship to assist in paying tuition and fees. According to the NSF website, the fellowship provides students with the opportunities for international research and professional development.
LSU President F. King Alexander congratulated the current and former students who were awarded the fellowship in a press release.
“STEM research has never been more important, and we applaud our students’ commitment to studying science, technology, engineering and math,” Alexander said.
The recognized Graduate Research Fellows in 2014 came from 442 universities. The fellowship, started in 1952, recognizes and supports high-achieving graduate students in STEM disciplines and strongly encourages under-represented populations — including women, racial and ethnic minorities and students with disabilities — to apply for the fellowship.
Nickholas Grant, a psychology graduate of LSU and a current graduate student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was one recipient of the prestigious fellowship.
“Being a National Science Foundation awardee is a tremendous honor and blessing from God that has afforded me a great opportunity to pursue my educational interest as well as contribute diversity to higher education,” Grant said.
Past recipients of the NSF Graduate Research Fellows include several Nobel Prize winners, former U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and Google founder Sergey Brin. NSF Graduate Fellows are recognized for their potential to make significant contributions to research, teaching and innovations in science and engineering.
“Having the largest number of students ever recognized from LSU is another reminder of the high-quality students and research taking place at the university,” Alexander said in a press release.