10 students, alumni win NSF Graduate Research Fellowships

Two current University of Georgia undergraduate students are among the 10 campus recipients of 2023 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships.

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program helps ensure the quality, vitality and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing full-time research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) or in STEM education. The GRFP provides three years of support at $37,000 annually over a five-year fellowship period for the graduate education of individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant research achievements in STEM or STEM education.

Begun in 1952, this fellowship program is the oldest and most prestigious of its kind; 42 recipients have gone on to become Nobel laureates, and more than 450 have become members of the National Academy of Sciences.

Typically, there are over 12,000 applications for these fellowships annually.  This year, there were 2,552 students offered fellowships in all areas of science.

The UGA undergraduate students and alumni winners are:

• Shay Magahey, B.S. ’22 (Climate and Large-Scale Atmospheric Dynamics)
• Killian McSweeney, (Climate and Large-Scale Atmospheric Dynamics)
• Carolina Victoria Del Mar Melendez Declet, B.S. Biology ’22 (Marine Biology)
• Andres E Villalobos, (Developmental Biology)
• Julia Nicole Weil, B.S. Ecology ’22 (Organismal Biology)

“Andres is a phenomenal student scholar with exceptional promise,” said Rachel Roberts-Galbraith, assistant professor in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences department of cellular biology. “In our group, he has made exciting contributions to our goal of understanding how small signaling molecules called neuropeptides promote tissue regeneration and stem cell function. As his mentor, it has been very rewarding to be part of his journey.”

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Image: Killian McSweeney, left, and Andres E Villalobos.