Three KU students named to prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
LAWRENCE — Three University of Kansas students were recently named to the highly competitive National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program.
The KU awardees:
- Joseph Hand, physics & astronomy
- Cecilia Paranjothi, chemistry
- Jasmine Perea, environmental & water resources science
The distinction provides three years of financial support with an annual stipend of $37,000 and a cost of education allowance of $16,000 to the institution.
The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious programs, dedicated to ensuring the vitality and diversity of the country’s science and engineering leaders by recognizing and supporting outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees. KU’s three students were among 2,000 selected from more than 12,000 applicants nationwide.
Ian Crossfield, associate professor of physics & astronomy at KU and head of the ExoLab, is research adviser to one of the recipients, Joseph Hand, a senior from Overland Park, who will attend graduate school at the University of Hawaii in the fall. Crossfield said it was especially impressive that KU had three recipients this year, since the program was even more competitive than before given the NSF’s recent budget cutbacks.
“Having three KU students receive this award makes a strong statement about the high quality of KU student researchers on the national stage,” Crossfield said.
Joseph Hand, physics & astronomy, from Overland Park
Hand is working with Crossfield to develop a machine learning model that can analyze the chemical composition of the atmospheres of stars by looking at their spectra. Particular elements in the star's atmosphere absorb particular colors of light, which show up in these spectra. By using machine learning, he aims to measure how much of these elements are in the star's atmosphere.
“It is an incredible honor to have received this fellowship to continue my work in astrophysics as a graduate student,” Hand said. “I would like to thank the NSF for awarding me this fellowship, as well as my research advisor Dr. Ian Crossfield for the immense help he has been to me throughout my undergraduate education.”
Cecilia Paranjothi, chemistry, from Lawrence
Paranjothi has been conducting undergraduate research for James Blakemore, associate professor of chemistry, since May 2022. Her current work, which is motivated by the need for improvements in the management of spent nuclear fuel, investigates the surface behavior of a series of uranium complexes. Paranjothi has presented her research at both regional and national American Chemical Society conferences.
“I am very honored to have received this fellowship, and I am grateful for the support it will provide me as well as the opportunities it will enable in my graduate studies,” Paranjothi said. “I am thankful for Dr. Blakemore and my research lab mates, as they have been a constant source of encouragement and inspiration throughout my time at KU.”
Jasmine Perea, environmental & water resources science, from Seward, Alaska
Perea works with Belinda Sturm, professor of civil, environmental & architectural engineering, on the anaerobic digestion model No. 1 (ADM1). She aims to collect microbes from Alaskan thermokarst lakes to explore their potential in Arctic anaerobic digestion systems. As an Invalu Scholar, she advocates for Indigenous representation in STEM and centers traditional ecological knowledge in environmental engineering.
“Earning my graduate degree at KU is a step toward ending the honey bucket crisis and plumbing poverty in Alaska Native villages,” she said. Perea credits the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership and the Haskell Environmental Research Studies (HERS) program for opening doors: “These fellowships recognize Indigenous brilliance and empower me to co-design systems that serve our people and protect our lands.”