Four current and former MAE students have been awarded the 2022 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF-GRFP).
According to the NSF Website, the fellowship recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported STEM disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited US institutions. The five-year fellowship includes three years of financial support including an annual stipend of $34,000 and a cost of education allowance of $12,000 to the institution.
Each year, upward of 12,000 students apply, and only 2,000 are offered the fellowship. From MAE, four outstanding students were awarded the fellowship this year:
Stephanie Eberly
Stephanie completed her undergraduate degree at MAE in 2020, graduating valedictorian as the top student university-wide out of nearly 6,000 graduates. During her undergraduate studies, Stephanie worked as an Undergraduate Research Assistant at NC State, Cornell University and Ohio State University.
After graduating from NC State, Stephanie moved on to University of California, Berkeley, where she is a PhD candidate in mechanical engineering with a concentration in biomechanics and a minor in neuroscience, and works as a graduate research assistant.
Along with her new status as an NSF Fellow, Stephanie is also an NIH T32 Fellow, a Berkeley Fellow, and an H2H8 Fellow. She is also a Biology and Biotechnology of Cell and Gene Therapy Training Grant Recipient and a STEM*FYI Professional Development Grant Recipient.
Lindsey Jacobson
Lindsey is currently a graduating senior at North Carolina State University studying aerospace engineering with a minor in industrial engineering. She is interested in engineering design methodology, design under uncertainty, system evolution and redesign, human aspects of design and STEM outreach.
She is an undergraduate research assistant in the System Design Optimization Lab, as well as a University Honors and Scholars Program Ambassador at NC State. She serves as the Vice President of the NC Alpha Chapter of Tau Beta Pi and works as the Payload Integration Lead with MAE’s High-Powered Rocketry Team. Additionally, Lindsey was recognized as a 2021 USRA Distinguished Undergraduate and has also been nominated for a 2022 Engineering Senior Award in the category of Leadership, one of the highest forms of recognition for a senior in the College of Engineering at NC State.
Lindsey previously had two internships at NASA Headquarters working on systems engineering and risk management for the James Webb Space Telescope Program, and next year, she will return to NC State as a PhD student in aerospace engineering.
Rebecca Hart
Rebecca is a graduating senior at MAE and she works as an undergraduate student researcher under Dr. Matthew Bryant at the Intelligent Structures and System Research Lab, where she has worked for more than two years.
She is also a member of MAE’s Baja SAE team, which designs, manufactures and builds a Baja car from scratch every year. She is also a member of the NC State University Scholars Program. Additionally, she has had two internships with the Kimberly-Clark Mechanical Engineering Co-op.
Rebecca also works as a summer research intern in 2021 at the University of Florida under Dr. Warren Dixon, where she will return next year as a PhD student in mechanical engineering.
Ryan DeBoskey
Ryan has been doing undergraduate research in aerospace engineering at NC State under Dr. Venkat Narayanaswamy since his sophomore year. He started working with the US. Naval Research Laboratory last summer and has been part-time remote throughout this semester. Through them he has worked on collaborative research projects with NC State. Ryan attributes his success to MAE’s Dr. Narayanaswamy and Dr. David Kessler from the US. Naval Research Laboratory for their tremendous influence on his work.
Ryan will return to NC State next year as a PhD student, where he will continue to work under Dr. Narayanaswamy to construct a fully-reacting solid-fuel ramjet engine and conduct laser diagnostics and performance tests. After he graduates, Ryan hopes to continue research in aerospace propulsion and eventually teach someday.
He was also awarded the prestigious DoD National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) fellowship, and since he can only accept one fellowship, he made the difficult decision to accept the NDSEG fellowship in place of the NSF-GRFP.