Six current and former University of New Mexico students have been selected to receive this year’s National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship.

According the NSF website, the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) “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 United States institutions.”

UNM's 2017 NSF Graduate Research Fellows:

Greg Ottino – Particle Physics

Julian Vigil – Chemical Engineering

Violet Sheffey – Sustainable Chemistry

James Fluke – Environmental Engineering

Tomas Babuska – Metallic Materials Research

Ciana Lopez – Chemical Engineering


Fellows receive a three-year annual stipend of $34,000 including a cost of education allowance, which gives them the chance to conduct their own research at any accredited U.S. institution. The program also provides an opportunity for international research as well as professional development.

According to its website, since 1952, NSF has funded over 50,000 of these fellowships, selecting from a pool of more than 500,000 applicants. 42 Fellows have gone on to become Nobel laureates with hundreds more obtaining membership to the National Academy of Sciences.