Three University of Utah chemical engineering undergraduate students received awards in the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP) for 2022. They are among eight College of Engineering students and 20 overall from the U to receive the fellowship this year, the largest U cohort to date.
The prestigious fellowship supports outstanding doctoral and research-based master’s students doing research in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, disciplines. A total of 17 fellowship winners received their baccalaureate degrees here at the U, the largest group of winners ever who trained at the U as undergraduates.
These are the three chemical engineering recipients and what they are researching at their respective graduate schools:
Cleo Hancock (University of Washington): Whether anodization and ionomeric spray-coating may increase the selectivity of CO2 reduction in electrocatalytic carbon sequestration.
Shaylee Larsen (University of California, Santa Barbara): A photo-electrocatalytic method for total mineralization of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in aqueous solutions at high throughputs.
Andrew Simonson (University of Florida): Determining Methanol to Hydrocarbons Network Behavior Using Kinetic Monte Carlo Methods.
This year’s engineering recipients come from the chemical, biomedical and mechanical engineering departments. The College of Engineering’s great success with the program in recent years is in large part due to faculty members like chemical engineering associate professor (lecturer) Tony Butterfield, who works with students all over the U campus in honing their applications. He starts off with an info session for fellowship applicants in September and then conducts writing workshops where students analyze their personal and research statements.
“This particular batch of students was so successful because 1.) They are amazing individuals, and 2.) We got them integrated into activities that would help their fellowship chances from Day One in our department,” said Butterfield (pictured above). “All three were leaders in our department’s K-12 outreach team, and all were effective researchers in our labs.”
Established in 1952, the NSF GRFP is the oldest fellowship program of its kind. The 2022 fellows receive a three-year annual stipend of $34,000, a $12,000 cost of allowance for tuition and fees, and numerous research and professional development opportunities.
“The University of Utah has a remarkable student population — the top in the nation,” Butterfield said. “By giving them early opportunities to shine in our research labs and student communities, they can adeptly master the skills needed to become amazing graduate students.”
If you are interested in receiving information about Butterfield’s workshops for next year’s NSF GRFP, click here to sign up on the email list.
Click here to see a list of all the University of Utah students who received the fellowship.
Congratulations to the other five engineering students who received the fellowship:
Devaki Abhyankar, biomedical engineering
Hannah Duffy, biomedical engineering
Robert Falconer, biomedical engineering
Nathan Ortiz, mechanical engineering
Caleb Thomson, biomedical engineering
The following engineering students received honorable mentions:
Donovan Birky, mechanical engineering
Rachel Klink, biomedical engineering
Tre Presley, mechanical engineering