Stony Brook Grads and Undergrads Earn Major Research Fellowships from National Science Foundation

Top, left to right: Laura Perrone, Joshua Farr, Lea Kenigsberg, Keffy Kehrli. Bottom, left to right: Yugarshi Mondal, Henry Ng. Not pictured: Samantha Scibelli.

Seven Stony Brook student researchers earned prestigious fellowships from the 2017 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). Click here to meet the awardees.

The fellowships provide each winner a $34,000 annual stipend for three years plus a $12,000 yearly cost-of-education allowance. The NSF chose 2,000 winners out of more than 13,000 applicants from 449 institutions nationwide.

“Stony Brook students, both graduate and undergraduate, have again demonstrated their outstanding potential for cutting-edge research. This year’s seven NSF GRF recipients span a remarkable range of science disciplines, showing the strengths of research activities across the University,” Interim Vice President for Research Rich Reeder said. “The funding provided by these fellowships permits students to pursue graduate education and research in areas of their choosing. These GRF awards also provide a nice addition to Stony Brook’s research funding.”

The NSF GRFP was established in 1952 to help develop and boost diversity of the United States’ science and engineering research workforce by supporting graduate students who pursue research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in NSF-supported STEM disciplines.

Anne McElroy, professor and graduate program director in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, lead a writing seminar with support from the Office of the Vice President for Research and the Graduate School. More than 100 Stony Brook students attended the seminar to learn about the GRFP and get help with preparing their applications.

“Once again, it was a real pleasure to work with so many talented and hardworking students across campus. I’m really proud of not only those recognized by winning the award or receiving honorable mentions, but everyone who put so much work into their applications,” McElroy said. “I’m sure they will all go on to very successful careers.”

Meet Stony Brook University’s 2017 NSF Graduate Research Fellows
Click each name to learn more.

Graduate students

Keffy Kehrli
Grad program: Genetics
Undergrad: BS in Physics and BA in Linguistics, Western Washington University
Hometown: Mount Vernon, WA
Advisor: Joshua Rest

Yugarshi Mondal
Grad program: Applied Math
Undergrad: BS in Chemistry and Economics, Case Western University
Hometown: Palatine, IL
Advisor: Allen Tannenbaum

Laura Perrone
Grad program: Clinical Psychology
Undergrad: BA in Psychology, Pomona College
Hometown: San Jose, CA
Advisor: Dr. Kristin Bernard

Undergraduate students

Joshua Farr
Major: Chemistry
Hometown: Worthington, OH

Lea Kenigsberg
Major: Mathematics
Hometown: Bnei Berak, Israel

Henry Ng
Major: Biology
Hometown: Hong Kong

Samantha Scibelli
Major: Physics
Hometown: Burnt Hills, NY

Honorable Mentions
MaryBeth Apriceno (Social & Health Psychology)
Sam Gurr (SoMAS)
Johnny Lee (Chemistry)
Emma Mumper (Clinical Psychology)
Teresa Schwemmer (SoMAS)

— By Brian Smith