Two University of Iowa Department of Chemistry students have received fellowships from the prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) and one has earned an honorable mention.
Fellowship Recipients are:
- Samantha Kruse, advised by Professors Forbes and MacGillivray
- Lillian Jones, advised by Professor Stone
Honorable mentions are:
- Andrej Corkovic, advised by Professor Williams
The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognizes individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant research achievements in STEM or STEM education. Fellows receive three years of financial support as well as access to opportunities for professional development. As the oldest graduate fellowship of its kind, the GRFP has a long history of selecting recipients who achieve high levels of success in their future academic and professional careers. The reputation of the GRFP follows recipients and often helps them become lifelong leaders who contribute significantly to both scientific innovation and teaching. NSF Fellows are anticipated to become knowledge experts who can contribute significantly to research, teaching, and innovations in science and engineering. These individuals are crucial to maintaining and advancing the nation’s technological infrastructure and national security as well as contributing to the economic well-being of society at large.
Samantha Kruse is a second-year graduate student in the Forbes and MacGillivray groups. Her research, which is at the interface of radiation chemistry and materials science, focuses on developing solid organic materials to mitigate high ionizing radiation structural defects. Her goal is to develop a structure-function relationship to rationally design materials for applications in long-lasting radiation detectors, nuclear waste containment, and space science.
Lillian Jones is a senior B.S. chemistry major graduating in May with honors. Her research is in atmospheric chemistry with a focus on bioaerosols. Her work as an undergraduate has included the characterization of atmospheric pollen fragments during extreme weather events and the assessment of the spatial variability of aeroallergens in Johnson County. She will be attending Colorado State University to study biosphere-atmosphere exchanges.
Andrej Corkovic is a second-year graduate student in the Williams group. His research focuses on activating C–H bonds on alcohol substrates by using borylnitrenes. In the future, he would like to pursue a career in academia.