Bold Questions, Big Recognition: 20 Northeastern Students Named NSF GRFP Fellows

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is one of the federal government’s longest-running investments in the future of American science and engineering. Established in 1952, the program has played a central role in sustaining the nation’s research enterprise by identifying and supporting early-career scientists and engineers at a pivotal moment in their development. The fields the GRFP supports — from quantum engineering and artificial intelligence to structural biology and environmental science — are not simply academic disciplines. They are the foundations of national security, economic competitiveness, and technological leadership. As the United States navigates an era defined by rapid advances in computing, biotechnology, and materials science, the scientists trained through programs like the GRFP are essential to maintaining American leadership in research and innovation.

Each Fellowship provides three years of support over a five-year fellowship period. For each year of support, NSF provides a $37,000 stipend and a $16,000 Cost of Education allowance to the graduate degree-granting institution where the Fellow is enrolled. The Cost of Education allowance offsets tuition and institutional fees, reducing the financial burden on both the student and their host laboratory — freeing advisors to direct resources toward research rather than student support.

Beyond the financial support, the GRFP confers a distinction that shapes a Fellow’s entire career trajectory. Principal investigators actively seek out GRFP Fellows because the award signals independence, intellectual rigor, and competitiveness — qualities that strengthen any research group and, in turn, the scientific enterprise as a whole. For the nation, each cohort of Fellows represents a strategic investment: researchers who will go on to lead labs, mentor the next generation of scientists, and produce discoveries that address some of the most pressing challenges in public health, defense, climate, and technology. The GRFP does not simply fund Northeastern University graduate students — it cultivates the scientific leaders that the United States will depend on for decades to come. This year, we are again pleased to announce that 20 Northeastern University undergraduates and graduate students were recognized as NSF GRFP Recipients and 14 were selected as Honorable Mentions.

NSF-GRFP Recipients
John Corey Balaguer COE’25
Graduate Institution: Northeastern University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Engineering – Civil Engineering (including Transport, Water, Construction)
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern:

Edward Berman COS’26
Graduate Institution: Northeastern University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Comp/IS/Eng – Machine Learning
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: PEAK Ascent Award, PEAK Summit Award, PEAK Shout-It-Out

Andrew S Briasco-Stewart COE’24
Graduate Institution: Trustees of Boston University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Comp/IS/Eng – Data Science, Data Mining, Information Retrieval and Databases
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: PEAK Campfire Chat

Manogya Chandar COS’22
Graduate Institution: University of New Mexico
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Life Sciences – Ecology
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern:

Matteo Couto Frignani COE’25 
Graduate Institution: Princeton University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Engineering – Bioengineering
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: PEAK Base Camp, PEAK Ascent Award, PEAK Summit Award, PEAK Shout-It-Out

Charles Ripp Crain COS’22
Graduate Institution: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Life Sciences – Genetics
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern:

Soumili Dey COS’24
Graduate Institution: Northeastern University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Life Sciences – Cell Biology
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: PEAK Summit

Caroline E Dial COE’25
Graduate Institution: California Institute of Technology
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Engineering – Biomedical Engineering
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern:

Dawning JiaXi Fu COE’26
Graduate Institution: Northeastern University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Engineering – Bioengineering
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: PEAK Base Camp, PEAK Ascent Award, PEAK Summit Award, PEAK Shout-It-Out

Varun A Gupta Khoury’25
Graduate Institution: University of California-San Diego
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Engineering – Optical Engineering
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern:

Hannah Higgins COE’PhD’29
Graduate Institution: Northeastern University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Engineering – Bioengineering
Undergraduate Institution: Mercer University
At Northeastern:

Dhruv Deepak Jatkar Khoury’26
Graduate Institution: Northeastern University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Engineering – Systems Engineering
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: PEAK Ascent Award, PEAK Summit Award, PEAK Shout-It-Out

Jackson K Jewell COE’PhD’29
Graduate Institution: Northeastern University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Engineering – Bioengineering
Undergraduate Institution: Duquesne University
At Northeastern:

Matthew David Laws Khoury’PhD’29
Graduate Institution: Northeastern University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Comp/IS/Eng – Computer Security and Privacy
Undergraduate Institution: Williams College
At Northeastern:

Kevin Lu Khoury’26
Graduate Institution: Northeastern University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Comp/IS/Eng – Artificial Intelligence
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern:

Aavi Lund COE’26
Graduate Institution: Northeastern University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Engineering – Mechanical Engineering
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: PEAK Summit Award, PEAK Shout-It-Out, and Stamps Scholar

Caroline Lynch COS’26
Graduate Institution: Northeastern University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Chemistry – Chemical Synthesis
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: PEAK Summit Award, PEAK Shout-It-Out

Karina Esperanza Millican COE’25
Graduate Institution: University of California-Irvine
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Engineering – Biomedical Engineering
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: PEAK Summit

Miti Patel COE’24
Graduate Institution:
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Engineering – Biomedical Engineering
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: URF Scholars Graduation Recognition Award

Sarah K Poole COS’23
Graduate Institution:
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Materials Research – Physics of Materials
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern:

Nicole Sindoni COS’23
Graduate Institution: Yale University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Life Sciences – Proteomics
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern:

Rachel Utama Khoury ’25
Graduate Institution: Baylor College of Medicine
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Comp/IS/Eng – Bioinformatics and Bio-inspired Computing
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: URF Scholars Graduation Recognition Award

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Chushun Wang COE’26
Graduate Institution:
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Engineering – Mechanical Engineering
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern:

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Kiran Bajaj COS’25
Graduate Institution:
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Life Sciences – Genomics
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: AJC Merit Research Scholar, PEAK Summit, Fulbright Finalist, NOAA Hollings Recipient

Evan John Clifford COE’26
Graduate Institution: Northeastern University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Physics and Astronomy – Quantum Information Science
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: AJC Merit Research Scholar

Lauren Genevieve Hulshof COS’23
Graduate Institution: Harvard University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Life Sciences – Neurosciences
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University\
At Northeastern: PEAK Summit, URF Scholars Graduation Recognition Award

Shriya Krishna COS’23
Graduate Institution: Yale University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Life Sciences – Systems and Molecular Biology
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: PEAK Summit, URF Scholars Graduation Recognition Award

Olivia D Leto COS’25\
Graduate Institution:
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Life Sciences – Cell Biology
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern:

Jackson T Normandin COS’25 
Graduate Institution: Princeton University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Geosciences – Geochemistry
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: URF Scholars Graduate School Fund Award

Jimena Perez Tetuan COE’26
Graduate Institution: Northeastern University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Life Sciences – Cell Biology
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern:

Veronica Christine Rajotte COS’26
Graduate Institution: Northeastern University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Life Sciences – Genomics
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: Jill Barrett Undergraduate Research Program in Biology

Moreira Salsman COS’24
Graduate Institution:
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Life Sciences – Evolutionary Biology
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern:

Victoria Mae Vance COS’26
Graduate Institution: Northeastern University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Life Sciences – Systems and Molecular Biology
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: PEAK Summit

Michelle Yu COS’26
Graduate Institution: Northeastern University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Chemistry – Chemical Measurement and Imaging
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: PEAK Base Camp, PEAK Summit