Sixteen Dartmouth students and alumni have been awarded National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowships (GRF) for 2015 and another 16 received honorable mentions. The Dartmouth winners announced on March 30 were among the 2,000 selected from 16,500 applicants nationwide.

(from left) Gabe Lewis, Sarah Hammer, and Andrew Sanders were on campus when they received the news from the National Science Foundation. (Photo by Eli Burakian ’00)

“We applaud the students who won and those who received honorable mention,” says F. Jon Kull '88, dean of graduate studies. “These fellowships recognize the hard work of these students and the potential of the research they pursue. The Graduate Studies Office is proud of the accomplishments and appreciative of the accolades they bring to Dartmouth and its faculty.”

The fellowships provide students financial support for three years, including a $34,000 annual stipend and a yearly $12,000 cost-of-education allowance to the graduate institution.

Three of the Dartmouth GRF winners were on campus March 30 to receive notice of their awards, including:

Sarah Hammer ’15, from Villanova, Pa., is enrolled at both Dartmouth and Thayer School of Engineering. She was surprised and delighted about winning the NSF fellowship. “I had actually approached it only as a ‘test run’ for next year,” she says.

Hammer is working toward an AB in engineering, modified with chemistry, and a minor in environmental studies, as well as a BE in chemical engineering from Thayer. “I will be graduating with both degrees (AB/BE) in June,” says Hammer. Her academic and research adviser at Thayer is Professor Lee Lynd, with whom she has researched biofuels derived from plant cellulose.

“At the end of August I will be heading for Princeton to pursue my interest in biofuels in the school’s Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. I plan to spend most of my summer at home with family and friends, and in my spare time I’ll be reading scientific literature pertaining to my field,” she says.

Winners of 2015 Graduate Research Fellowship Awards in Engineering

• Ian Blumenthal ’10, Thayer ’11, engineering—bioengineering
• Stephanie Crocker ’12, Thayer ’13, engineering—electrical and electronic
• Sarah Hammer ’15, engineering—chemical engineering

2015 Graduate Research Fellowship Honorable Mentions in Engineering

• Natalie Afonina, Thayer ’16, engineering—materials
• Wiley Dunlap-Shohl ’12, Thayer ’13, engineering—energy
• Joseph Futoma ’14, computer/information science/engineering—machine learning
• Merritt Jenkins ’10, Thayer ’12, engineering—mechanical
• Feynman Liang, Thayer ’15, computer/information science/engineering
• Ellen Weburg ’14, Thayer ’14, engineering—biomedical