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Four OSU students offered prestigious graduate fellowships

Thursday, April 16, 2015

From left to right: Chris Dinges, Peter Storm and Rebecca Purvis

Four Oklahoma State University graduate students have been offered prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program scholarships to help fund their future graduate school educations.

Christopher Dinges, from Oklahoma City, psychology; Rebecca Purvis, from Houston, civil engineering; Peter Storm, from Stillwater, environmental engineering; and Josh Damron, from Stillwater, chemistry, were among 2,000 graduate students nationally who were offered GRFP scholarships this year. More than 16,000 students apply each year.

“These students are in the Top 1 percent of the country,” said Dr. Jean Van Delinder, associate dean of the Graduate College and OSU coordinator for the NSF GRFP awards. “This is an honor they’ll have with them for the rest of their life.”

The NSF created the program to encourage students to further their STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – research at nationally accredited universities. Fellowship winners come from all states as well as the District of Columbia.

Winners of the scholarship receive three years of funding that has to be used within five years. They must be making progress toward a graduate degree in order to continue to receive funding. Students are given a $34,000 stipend paid over twelve months. The institution receives a $12,000 Cost of Education allowance, which covers their tuition and health insurance. GRFP fellows can request additional funds for travel and research. Each student submits an application that includes a personal statement and a detailed research proposal along with recommendation letters. 

“I would say close to 30 applied at OSU,” Van Delinder said. “Since Dr. Sheryl Tucker has been the dean (of the Graduate College), there has been a significant increase in successful applicants. This award is very difficult to get. If you receive it, it means the government wants to invest significant resources into these students so they can further their research without being hindered by worrying about covering their living expenses.”

An additional 2,000 of the applicants were given an honorable mention. Of those, four are OSU students: Ryan Greenway, evolutionary biology; Jessica Neal, animal science; Rachel Cosby, genomics; and Justin Agan, evolutionary biology. These students don’t receive a financial scholarship but still have the title to carry with them when beginning graduate study. 

“They deserve a shout out, too,” Van Delinder said. “They’re the second percent. This is still a big accomplishment.”

Tim O’Neil is the undergraduate research coordinator for the Henry Bellmon Office of Scholar Development and Undergraduate Research and works with the students applying for the NSF GRFP scholarship as seniors. 

“OSU’s extensive undergraduate research opportunities with pioneering faculty mentors prepare students well for graduate study and make them highly competitive for prestigious awards like the NSF GRFP,” O’Neil said. “Many of these students began their research careers in OSU’s Freshman Research Scholars program and were further aided by a Wentz or Niblack Research award.” 

In a coincidence, Storm and fellow recipient Damron were next-door neighbors in Stillwater when both were in elementary school and the two became close friends. In addition, their fathers are OSU faculty in the Division of Agricultural Sciences and National Resources. 

As of 2015, OSU has six other students who have won the scholarship previously and are active, meaning they are either on reserve or on tenure. The four students who won this year have until May 1 to accept the scholarship. 

“Three of the four have already accepted it,” Van Delinder said. “The key factor to deciding whether to accept the award for these students is committing to getting their studies done in three of the next five years. We are expecting to hear of one more student as well in the next couple of weeks who wants to declare OSU.” 

Story by Matt Cohlmia

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