NEWS

Huskies Selected for the 2025 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

April 22, 2025 | by t.rafferty-osaki

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is to help 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 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.  NSF actively encourages submission of applications from the full spectrum of diverse talent that society has to offer, which includes underrepresented and underserved communities.

Each Fellowship provides three years of support over a five-year fellowship period. For each of the three years of support, NSF provides a $37,000 stipend and a $16,000 Cost of Education allowance to the graduate degree-granting institution of higher education for each Fellow who uses the support in a fellowship year.  The Fellowship is portable and can be transferred to a different institution of higher education if a Fellow chooses to transfer to another institution after completing the first Fellowship year.  While the Fellowship is offered to the individual, the Fellowship funds are awarded to the institution of higher education at which a Fellow is enrolled and the institution is responsible for disbursement of the stipend to the Fellow.

This year, we are pleased to announce that 20 Huskies were recognized as NSF GRFP Recipients and 28 were selected as Honorable Mentions.

NSF-GRFP Recipients

Lina Abu-AbsiLina R Abu-Absi, COE’24, Chemical Engineering and Biochemistry
Graduate Institution: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Engineering – Chemical Engineering
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: PEAK Summit Awardee, URF Scholars Graduate School Fund Awardee

 

 

 

Matthew CoughlinMatthew Coughlin, COE’25, Mechanical Engineering
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Engineering – Mechanical Engineering
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: AJC Merit Research Scholar, PEAK Summit Awardee, PEAK Shout-It-Out Awardee, URF Scholars Graduate School Fund Awardee, Knight-Hennessy Nomination 2025

 

 

 

Maya De Los SantosMaya De Los Santos, COE’25, Electrical and Computer Engineering
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Comp/IS/Eng – Human Computer Interaction
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: AJC Merit Research Scholar, PEAK Trail Blazer Awardee, URF Scholars Graduate School Fund Awardee, Rhodes, Marshall, and Knight Hennessy Nomination 2025, Goldwater Nominee 2024

 

 

 

 

Marco Franco, COS’22, Mathematics
Graduate Institution: Harvard University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Life Sciences – Neurosciences
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University

 

 

 

 

Jake GinesinJacob M Ginesin, Khoury’25, Computer Science and Mathematics
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Comp/IS/Eng – Formal Methods, Verification, and Programming Languages
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern:  PEAK Summit Awardee, PEAK Shout-it-Out Awardee

 

 

 

 

Jessica HealeyJessica Healey, COE’24, Mechanical Engineering
Graduate Institution: University of California, San Diego
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Engineering – Mechanical Engineering
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: PEAK Base Camp Awardee, URF Scholars Graduate School Fund Awardee

 

 

 

Nicholas HurleyNicholas Hurley, COE’24, Computer Engineering & Physics
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Engineering – Quantum Engineering
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: PEAK Ascent Awardee

 

 

 

 

Jonah JaffeJonah Jaffe, Khoury’25, Computer Science & Mathematics
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Engineering – Ocean Maritime Engineering
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: PEAK Base Camp Awardee, PEAK Ascent Awardee,  PEAK Summit Awardee

 

 

 

 

Stephanie Krueger, COS’21, Marine Biology
Graduate Institution: University of Chicago
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Life Sciences – Organismal Biology
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University

 

 

 

 

Elisabeth LeungElisabeth Leung, Khoury’24, Data Science, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Graduate Institution: University of California-Riverside
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Life Sciences – Evolutionary Biology
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: Dean’s Distinguished Award graduate award recipient; NSF GRFP applicant; Making a Grad School Plan participant

 

 

 

Smeet PatelSmeet Patel, COE’24, Mechanical Engineering & Physics
Graduate Institution: University of Wisconsin-Madison
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Engineering – Nuclear Engineering
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: URF Scholars Graduate School Fund Awardee

 

 

 

Dominic PizzarellaDominic G Pizzarella, COE’25, Chemical Engineering
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Engineering – Chemical Engineering
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: PEAK Base Camp Awardee, PEAK Ascent Awardee, PEAK Summit Awardee, Knight-Hennessy Nomination 2025

 

 

 

Diandre Sabale, Khoury PhD’29, Computer Science
Graduate Institution: Northeastern University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Comp/IS/Eng – Data Science, Data Mining, Information Retrieval and Databases
Undergraduate Institution: University of Washington

 

 

 

Claire SchlesingerClaire Schlesinger, Khoury’25, Computer Science
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Comp/IS/Eng – Artificial Intelligence
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: URF Scholars Graduate School Fund Awardee

 

 

 

 

Madeline SzooMadeline Szoo, COE’25, Chemical Engineering & Biochemistry
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Engineering – Bioengineering
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: AJC Merit Research Scholar, PEAK Base Camp Awardee, PEAK Ascent Awardee, PEAK Summit Awardee, PEAK Shout-It-Out Awardee, PEAK Trail Blazer Awardee

 

 

 

 

Dario Tagliaferri, COS’20, Cell and Molecular Biology
Graduate Institution: University of California, San Francisco
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Engineering – Bioengineering
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University

 

 

 

 

Ffion Titmuss, COS’21, Biology/English
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Life Sciences – Ecology
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: URF Conference Travel Fund Application

 

 

 

 

 

Vincent Ton, COE MS’25, Mechanical Engineering
Graduate Institution: Northeastern University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Engineering – Mechanical Engineering
Undergraduate Institution: University of California-Irvine

 

 

 

 

Diana TurrietaDiana Turrieta, COS’25, Biochemistry
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Life Sciences – Structural Biology
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: AJC Merit Research Scholar, PEAK Trail Blazer Awardee, URF Scholars Graduate School Fund Awardee, Fulbright Nominee 2025

 

 

 

 

Conrad Zimmerman, Khoury’PhD’29, Computer Science
Graduate Institution: Northeastern University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Comp/IS/Eng – Formal Methods, Verification, and Programming Languages
Undergraduate Institution: Brown University

 

 

 

 

Honorable Mentions:

Carly M Becker, COS’24, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Graduate Institution: University of Connecticut
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Life Sciences – Environmental Biology
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University

 

 

 

 

Andrew D Benincasa, COE PhD’29, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Graduate Institution: Northeastern University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Comp/IS/Eng – Wired and Wireless Networking
Undergraduate Institution: SUNY at Binghamton

 

 

 

 

Manogya Chandar, COS’22, Environmental Science
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Life Sciences – Ecology
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University

 

 

 

 

 

Yuhan Cheng, COS’19, Behavioral Neuroscience
Graduate Institution: University of California-Los Angeles
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Psychology – Learning and Behavior
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University

 

 

 

 

Brian ChoBrian Cho, COE’ 23, Chemical Engineering & Biochemistry
Graduate Institution: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Engineering – Bioengineering
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: PEAK Summit Awardee, URF Scholars Graduation Recognition Award

 

 

 

Amanda DeeAmanda Dee, COE’23, Bioengineering
Graduate Institution: University of California, Berkley
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Life Sciences – Plant Biology
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: PEAK Ascent Awardee, PEAK Summit Awardee, PEAK Trail Blazer Awardee, Goldwater Nominee 2022

 

 

 

Laura B Godfrey, COS’21, Behavioral Neuroscience
Graduate Institution: Hofstra University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Psychology – Developmental Psychology
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University

 

 

 

 

Brooke A Goggins, COE PhD’29, Civil & Environmental Engineering
Graduate Institution: Northeastern University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Engineering – Environmental and/or Ecological Engineering
Undergraduate Institution: Pennsylvania State Univ, University Park

 

 

 

 

Carolyn Huey, COE’24,  Mechanic Engineering & Physics
Graduate Institution: University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Engineering – Mechanical Engineering
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University

 

 

 

 

Emerson JohnstonEmerson Johnston, CSSH’23, Politics, Philosophy, & Economics
Graduate Institution: Stamford University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Social Sciences – Communications
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: PEAK Summit Awardee, URF Scholars Graduate School Fund Awardee, Gilman Scholarship 2021, Knight-Hennessy Recipient 2023

 

 

 

Tobias JonsonTobias O Jonson, COE’24, Bioengineering & Biochemistry
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Life Sciences – Proteomics
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: URF Scholars Graduate School Fund Awardee

 

 

 

 

Cerina KarrCerina Karr, COS’23, Biology
Graduate Institution: Stanford University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Life Sciences – Microbial Biology
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: URF Scholars Graduate School Fund Awardee, Churchill Nominee 2023

 

 

 

Jasmine C Liu, Khoury’24, Data Science & Mathematics
Graduate Institution: Brown University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Comp/IS/Eng – Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality, Graphics, and Visualization
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University

 

 

 

 

George V Neville-Neil, Khoury’90, Computer Science
Graduate Institution: Yale University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Comp/IS/Eng – Computer Systems
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University

 

 

 

 

Karenna Ng, COS’23, Biology & Mathematics
Graduate Institution: The Scripps Research Institute
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Life Sciences – Artificial Intelligence
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University

 

 

 

 

Kelly O’Rourke, COS’20,  Biology
Graduate Institution: Vanderbilt University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Life Sciences – Biochemistry
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University

 

 

 

 

Victoria Paradise, COS’21, Biology
Graduate Institution: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Life Sciences – Cell Biology
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University

 

 

 

 

Ariana M Patterson, COS’23, Environmental Science
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Geosciences – Biogeochemistry
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University

 

 

 

 

 

Kaitlyn RameshKaitlyn Ramesh, COE’25, Bioengineering
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Life Sciences – Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: AJC Merit Research Scholar, PEAK Ascent Awardee, PEAK Summit Awardee, Goldwater Recipient 2024

 

 

 

Nathaniel Shepard, COS’20, Biochemistry
Graduate Institution: Northwestern University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Life Sciences – Neurosciences
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavor Awardee, PEAK Shout-It-Out Awardee

 

 

 

Brian ShimBrian Shim, COS’23, Cell and Molecular Biology
Graduate Institution: Harvard University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Life Sciences – Systems and Molecular Biology
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: PEAK Ascent Awardee, PEAK Summit Awardee, PEAK Trail Blazer Awardee

 

 

 

Alex StorrerAlex Storrer, COE’24, Mechanical Engineering & Physics
Graduate Institution: Stanford University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Engineering – Mechanical Engineering
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: PEAK Shout-It-Out Awardee, URF Scholars Graduate School Fund Awardee, Knight-Hennessy Nominee 2024

 

 

 

Kyle Thieringer, COS’21, Behavioral Neuroscience
Graduate Institution: University of Washington
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Life Sciences – Neurosciences
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University

 

 

 

 

Marena Trauger, COE PhD’28, Chemical Engineering
Graduate Institution: Northeastern University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Engineering – Chemical Engineering
Undergraduate Institution: Pennsylvania State University

 

 

 

 

Lanny TsengLanny Tseng, COE’25, Electrical Engineering/Physics
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Engineering – Radio Frequency Engineering
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: PEAK Summit Awardee, URF Scholars Graduate School Fund Awardee

 

 

 

 

Andes Willemsen, COS’23, Chemistry
Graduate Institution: Brown University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Chemistry – Macromolecular Chemistry
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University

 

 

 

 

Victoria Williams, COE PhD’28, Bioengineering
Graduate Institution: Northeastern University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Engineering – Biomedical Engineering
Undergraduate Institution: University of Massachusetts Lowell

 

 

 

 

4x5_YangGrace Yang, COS’23, Biochemistry
Graduate Institution: Boston University
NSF GRFP Field of Graduate Study: Chemistry – Macromolecular Chemistry
Undergraduate Institution: Northeastern University
At Northeastern: PEAK Ascent Awardee, PEAK Summit Awardee, URF Scholars Graduate School Fund Awardee