From the Penn State Graduate School

Penn State to host eleven new National Science Foundation graduate researchers

University Park, Pa. — Penn State is host to eleven new National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) recipients in 2010-11. These students join twenty-four prior recipients continuing in the University's graduate degree programs in the Eberly College of Science and the Colleges of Agricultural Sciences, Engineering, Earth and Mineral Sciences, Health and Human Development, and the Liberal Arts, as well as the Intercollege Graduate Degree Programs. The NSF program supports outstanding graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees.

Among the eleven other students selected for the fellowship at Penn State, is  Benjamin Green, who will pursue a PhD in the Department of Meteorology.  Ben is currently finishing a project on miniature supercells and tornadoes in hurricanes, and will begin working on doctorate research with Dr. Fuqing Zhang, Professor of Meteorology and Statistics.

According to the National Science Foundation's Web site, the Graduate Research Fellowship Program is "the oldest graduate fellowship program of its kind with a history of selecting recipients who achieve high levels of success in their future academic and professional careers,” and that “fellows benefit from 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 travel allowance and the freedom to conduct their own research at any accredited U.S. or foreign institution of graduate education they choose."

The NSF GRFP annual program announcement is typically released in July or August and applications are accepted via Fastlane (https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/fastlane.jsp), the NSF's official online information and business transaction center. Application deadlines usually begin in early November and vary depending on the field of study. NSF-supported fields of study include: chemistry; computer and information science and engineering; engineering; geosciences; life sciences; mathematical sciences; physics and astronomy; psychology; and social sciences.

For additional information on the NSF GRFP, contact Barbara Struble, director of the Graduate School's Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards Administration, at [email protected] or (814) 865-8122.