NSF Graduate Research Fellowships Given to 13 Pitt Graduating Seniors, Current Graduate Students

Issue Date: 
May 2, 2010

University of Pittsburgh graduating seniors and current graduate students have been named recipients of National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowships through the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP); the 13 fellowship awards go to six new Pitt graduates and to seven students who are pursuing graduate studies at Pitt.

The fellowships have been designed to ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science and engineering in the United States and reinforce its diversity. The 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 in the United States and abroad.

As the oldest graduate fellowship program of its kind, the GRFP has a long history of selecting recipients who achieve high levels of success in their future academic and professional careers. The prestige of the GRFP fellowships helps support recipients to become life-long leaders who contribute significantly to both scientific innovation and teaching.

Fellows receive a three-year annual stipend of $30,000 along with a $10,500 cost-of- education allowance for tuition and fees, a one-time $1,000 international travel allowance, and the freedom to conduct research at any accredited U.S. or foreign institution of graduate education.

Pitt’s winners in the undergraduate category are:

Joshua Warren Cannon, an anthropology and linguistics major with a minor in classical languages, who today earns a Bachelor of Arts degree and will attend the University of Chicago to study in the Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations program, focusing on the archaeology of Bronze Age Turkey;

Erin Mae Donnelly, a linguistics and anthropology major with a Spanish minor, who today earns a Bachelor of Arts degree and will pursue a PhD in linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley;

Erin Christine Rodriguez, an anthropology major with a minor in statistics, who this month earned Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Philosophy degrees, with honors, will attend the University of California, Berkeley to pursue a PhD in the anthropology program with a concentration in archaeology;

Stanley Frederick Steers, a physics, math, music, and economics major, who today earns a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Science, and a Bachelor of Philosophy degree, will attend Ohio State University to pursue a PhD in physics;

Michaelangelo David Tabone, a political science and chemical engineering major, who today earns a Bachelor of Philosophy, a Bachelor of Science, and a Bachelor of Arts degree, as well as a certificate in geographic information systems. He will study in the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley, for an interdisciplinary degree combining engineering, economics, environmental science, and social sciences.

Allyson Caroline Tessin, who today earns a BA in environmental studies and a BPhil in geology, will spend next year in Norway studying at the Bjerknes Center for Climate Research through a Fulbright grant, before attending the University of Michigan to pursue a PhD in geology.

Pitt winners in the graduate category follow:

Emma Monroe Baillargeon, who earned her BS in bioengineering at Pitt, is pursuing an MS in bioengineering at Pitt. After receiving her MS, she plans to enter a PhD program in bioengineering;

Julia Rebecca Bursten, who earned a BA in philosophy at Rice University, has completed her second year of study towards a PhD in the history and philosophy of science at Pitt;

Erin Crowder, who earned a BS in neuroscience with a minor in mathematics at the College of William and Mary, is pursuing a PhD in bioengineering at Pitt;

Eric Anthony Griffin, who earned a BS in biology with minors in chemistry and sociology at Berry College, is working towards her PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology at Pitt;

Katherine Iman Martin, who earned a BA in brain, behavior, and cognitive sciences, with highest distinction, with minors in linguistics, Spanish, and language and literature at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, is pursuing an MA/PhD in applied linguistics with a focus on second-language acquisition and a graduate certificate in Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages at Pitt;

Aarthi Padmanabhan, who earned a BS in cognitive science with a minor in communications design at Carnegie Mellon University, is pursuing a PhD in cognitive psychology with a concentration in cognitive neuroscience while at Pitt; and

Lynn Anne Worobey, who earned a BS in biomedical engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, is pursuing a PhD in bioengineering at Pitt.