A record number of UGA students and alumni have been offered National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships this year. These highly competitive awards recognize and support outstanding graduate students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines.
Seventeen UGA students and alumni were among the 2,000 fellows selected from nearly 17,000 applicants nationwide for the 2016 competition.
“I am pleased that UGA students and alumni once again have achieved a record level of success in this prestigious national competition,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “Research is an essential part of graduate education; the research projects our students engage in through their graduate programs address some of the world’s most significant problems while preparing our students to be leaders in their fields.”
UGA’s 2016 NSF fellows and their fields of study are: Lydia Babcock-Adams, oceanography; Grover James Brown, ecology; Jennifer Lynn Cyr, ecology; Michelle V. Evans, ecology; Aileen R. Ferraro, biology; Maite Nunes Ghazaleh, marine biology; Sarah Josephine Harrison, biogeochemistry; Travis W. Jones, archaeology; Allison Nicole Koch, anthropology; Katharine Love Korunes, biology; Kerri Lynne Miazgowicz, biology; Micah Copeland Miles, ecology; Paige Bianca Miller, ecology; Michael Daniel Paxhia, biology; Emma Nicole Shipman, genomics; Sarah Elizabeth Tammen, mathematics; and Michelle Adma Ziadie, STEM education and learning research.
“This is a remarkable accomplishment for our institution,” said Suzanne Barbour, dean of the UGA Graduate School. “The NSF views Graduate Research Fellowships Program awards as ‘investments that will help propel this country’s future innovations and economic growth.’ That 17 GRFPs were awarded to UGA graduate students and alumni is a tremendous vote of confidence in our students and our graduate programs.”