Four graduate students receive NSF research fellowship honors

Pictured is Rebecca Carlson

Four Department of Chemistry graduate students have received honors in the 2014 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP) program. Rebecca Carlson was honored with a fellowship, and Sam Egger, Emily Keller, and Marie Vanderlaan received honorable mentions.

The prestigious and competitive GRFP program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees. Fellowship winners receive three years of support and a $32,000 annual stipend. The Department of Chemistry receives a $12,000 cost-of-education allowance.

Rebecca Carlson a second-year graduate student in Professor Laura Gagliardi's group. She is interested in understanding the catalytic properties of bimetallic complexes and developing new theoretical methods. Currently, she is working on developing a new multiconfigurational pair density functional theory method with professors Gagliardi and Don Truhlar. She is also interested in Science Technology Engineering & Math (STEM) outreach.

Sam Egger is a second-year graduate student working in Professor Christy Haynes' laboratory. His research interests include nanomaterials for biological applications.

Emily Keller is a first-year graduate student working in Professor Renee Frontiera's group. Her research interests include determining how plasmons aid the degradation of organic pollutants using ultrafast Raman spectroscopy.

Marie Vanderlaan is a first-year graduate working with Professor Marc Hillmyer. Her research focuses on block copolymer thin film lithography.