Press Release 95-48
High-Ability College Students Offered NSF Graduate Research Fellowships

July 18, 1995
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The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced the award of research fellowships to 728 outstanding college and university students for graduate study in the sciences, mathematics, and engineering. Dr. Luther S. Williams, NSF Assistant Director for Education and Human Resources, praised the outstanding contributions Graduate Fellows have made to the nation over the 44-year history of the program. There have been 12 individuals awarded graduate fellowships who later won Nobel Prizes. In welcoming this new group of awardees, Dr. Williams commented: "Those honored today are the future leaders who are essential to maintaining the scientific and technological enterprise that undergirds the economic strength and well-being of this country."

Among the individuals selected as 1995 Graduate Fellows are:

• Ruth A. Pyle, from Moscow, Idaho, will receive a B.A. in biology from Saint Olaf College. She plans to attend Washington University, where she will pursue a Ph.D. in cell biology.

• David Ernest Huber is working toward a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology and cognitive science at Indiana University. Mr. Huber's research interest centers on conscious memory versus automatic memory distinction. He completed a B.A. with a double major in physics and in psychology at Williams College.

• Roberta Michelle Hotinski attends Pennsylvania State University where she is pursuing a Ph.D. in paleoceanography. Ms. Hotinski's research interest is in the cycling of trace metals in the oceans. She holds a B.S. in environmental geology and a B.A. in German from Southern Methodist University.

• Reid Randall Harrison, from Defuniak Springs, Florida, received a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Florida and plans to pursue a Ph.D. in computational neuroscience at the California Insitutue of Technology. Mr. Harrison's research interests involve the sensory aspects of intelligence in both biological and artificial organisms.

• Amy Lee McDonald attends Tulane University where she is completing a B.S. in mathematics. Ms. McDonald plans to pursue a PhD in mathematics at Duke University. Her research interst is in mathematical modeling.

The fellowships provide a stipend of $14,400 per year for full- time graduate study. An annual cost-of-education allowance of $8,600 is also provided by the NSF in lieu of all tuition and required fees at U.S. institutions. In addition, both Fellows and Honorable Mention recipients may request the use of any of four national supercomputer centers supported by NSF for their graduate research work. NSF Graduate Fellows may attend any appropriate non profit U.S. or foreign institution of higher education. Each fellowship is awarded for three years of graduate study. The fellowships may be used over a five-year period to permit students to incorporate teaching or research assistantships into their education during periods in which they are not receiving fellowship stipends. Of the 858 new awards offered in the Graduate and Minority Graduate competitions combined, 80 are expressly for Women in Engineering, funded jointly with the Directorate for Engineering, and 10 are for Women in Computer and Information Science, funded by the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering.

Applications were submitted by 6,243 students in the nationwide competition for NSF Graduate Fellowships. The applications were evaluated by panelists assembled by the Oak Ridge Associated Universities, and awards were made by NSF on the basis of merit. In addition to the 728 fellowship awards, NSF awarded Honorable Mention to 1,415 applicants in recognition of their outstanding potential for scientific and engineering careers.

The new Fellows represent 50 states and the District of Columbia. Of the 728 award offers, 338 were made to women. By scientific discipline, the distribution of awards is: 232 in engineering; 35 in mathematics and applied mathematics; 44 in computer science; 43 in physics and astronomy; 48 in chemistry; 26 in earth sciences; 90 in biological sciences; 76 in biomedical sciences, including biochemistry, biophysics, and molecular biology; and 134 in the behavioral and social sciences.

Note To Reporters: A List of NSF Graduate Fellowship Awardees and Honorable Mention recipients is available by calling the NSF Office of Legislative and Public Affairs at (703) 292-8070.

-NSF-

Media Contacts
Njuguna Kabugi, NSF (703) 292-8070 nkabugi@nsf.gov

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering, with an annual budget of $6.06 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to over 1,900 universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 45,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes over 11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards over $400 million in professional and service contracts yearly.

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