Four OSU CEAT students awarded the 2020 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Four Oklahoma State University (OSU) students from the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology (CEAT) were award the 2020 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship.  

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) helps ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science and engineering in the United States and reinforces 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 at accredited U.S. institutions.

Fellows benefit from a three-year annual stipend of $34,000 along with a $12,000 cost of education allowance for tuition and fees (paid to the institution), opportunities for international research and professional development, and the freedom to conduct their own research at any accredited U.S. institution of graduate education they choose.  

Karl Strecker is a graduate student in electrical and electronic engineering at OSU and is conducting research in group velocity dispersion management in terahertz wireless links. He is researching extremely high-speed wireless communication. 

“The receipt of the NSF’s Graduate Research Fellowship is an honor,” said Strecker. “My journey through higher education has been full of the investment of many teachers and mentors, as well as a lot of hard work, and this fellowship is in many ways a validation of all that. Higher education is also expensive, but the NSF grant will enable me to pursue a doctoral degree here at OSU with much less concern about making ends meet.” 

 

Rabecca Wiseman is a graduate student in environmental engineering at OSU and is researching automated energy optimization of the aeration process within municipal wastewater treatment. Wiseman plans to begin her doctorate this fall.

“This award means peace of mind for me,” said Wiseman. “I can truly focus on my research rather than how to fund it.” 

 

Aubrey McCutchan is a graduate student in environmental and water resources engineering at the University of Texas at Austin and is studying the effect of turbulence on ice melting rates.  This knowledge will be used in ice melting models to obtain more accurate rates of sea level rise. McCutchan received her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at Oklahoma State University. 

 

Joanna Quiah is a first year graduate student at North Carolina State University studying biosystems and agricultural engineering. Her research will use the jet erosion test (JET) and sediment erodibility parameters to determine bivalve aquaculture’s efficacy in mitigating erosion. This project will investigate analytical approaches to observe changes in such parameters with the presence of bivalves, and further examine JET testing practices on the coast. Quiah received her bachelor’s degree in Biosystems Engineering from OSU.
“This fellowship means the world to me because I now feel more confident and empowered to make a difference in water/environmental practices and policies through research and extension,” said Quiah. “Also, with increased financial security, I will have more flexibility and resources to conduct extension related activities, and add on more detailed, exciting work to my original project. I am excited to go into industry and apply what I’ve been learning in graduate school, and hope to contribute to the chain of communication between academia and the community, to further promote the use of research based, sustainable, and efficient solutions for modern environmental issues around the world.”

Since 1952, NSF has funded over 50,000 Graduate Research Fellowships out of more than 500,000 applicants. Currently, 42 Fellows have gone on to become Nobel Laureates, and more than 450 have become members of the National Academy of Sciences. Additionally, the GRFP has a high rate of doctorate degree completion, with more than 70 percent of students completing their doctorates within 11 years.

RELEASE CONTACT: Kristi Wheeler | CEAT Marketing | 405-744-5831| kristi.wheeler@okstate.edu