SFAz Graduate Research Fellowships (GRF)
Now, the largest of its kind in the United States*
Second year Science Foundation Arizona (SFAz) Graduate Fellow Alycin Gitlin is in the photo above. She recently wrote,
" During my SFAz fellowship, I hope to create tools that help decisionmakers understand and apply knowledge derived from the fields of climate, forest management, hydrology and ecological genetics. I want to influence the way Arizona grows, so human water needs can be balanced with the water needs of our ecosystems... I truly appreciate SFAz's willingness to invest in idealists like me."
For the full letter addressed to Science Foundation Arizona and more on Alycin, Read More >>
The Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) Purpose and Goals |
- Science Foundation Arizona is committed to investing early in individuals who have the highest potential to drive innovation and a high quality of life in Arizona.
- The GRF program transforms the ability of the state’s existing graduate programs to attract exceptionally gifted students in key areas of strategic value to Arizona: Information and Communications Technology, Sustanable Systems and Biomedical Research . >> Arizona Fellows will pursue their Ph.D. education in Arizona.
- In its first year, SFAz committed $4 million to fund 80 fellowships at Northern Arizona University, Arizona State University and University of Arizona. Each student works side-by-side with their faculty instructor and mentor. - Starting in the fall of 2008, SFAz has committed an additional $8.8 million to fund an addtional 100 students now making this fellowship program the largest of its kind in the United States.* |
- The GRF's are awarded up to two consecutive years, based on performance, to top graduate students - both nationally and internationally - in science, math and engineering. GRF candidates are nominated by academic institutions.
- A GRF totals $40,000 annually, per Fellow that includes a stipend of $25,000 in supplemental allowance for research, $5,000 to offset any relocation costs or additional research expenses, and $10,000 for the institutional cost of the Fellow's education.
Should you have additional questions on this investment program, please refer to the Q&A below and the Questions and Answers, GRF Section. >>
A summary below highlights the 80 Fellows in their first year of research.
| 60 are from U.S. undergraduate programs outside of Arizona 22 fellows are in Information/Communications Technologies 27 fellows are in Sustainable Systems 31 fellows are in Biosciences |
And, lets meet some of the Science Foundation Arizona Fellows!
 | Madhumitha Raghav has an undergraduate degree in Chemical & Environmental Engineering. Her research focus at University of Arizona involves the development of technologies for treating arsenic-bearing hazardous wastes. She is maintaining a GPA of 4.0 in her current coursework, and was selected to attend a workshop for graduate students on Entrepreneurship and Commercialization of Technologies. |
 | National Science Foundation (NSF) is funding SFAz graduate fellow Douglas Derrick, a graduate of the US Air Force Academy, for grants of $50,000 and $40,000. His research examines differences between cultural non-verbal gestures of people when they deceive. In addition, he conducted an experiment to collect deceptive behavior data. |
 | Christine Zwart, wants to contribute significantly to the field of neuroscience, and specifically to the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Zwart hopes to develop a predictive algorithm which will accurately determine which neurological tracts and nuclei will be stimulated by a given electrode pulse “prescription.” |
 | Brandon Mechtley’s research on physical-digital environments for complex systems understanding and water use decision-making in Arizona was featured on NBC Nightly News. |
 | Jeffery Boyd’s research on mobile sensing of stroke patients received an award from Intel Corp., which provided him with equipment to enhance his research on trajectory and velocity dynamics in reaching patterns of stroke patients. |
Northern Arizona University |
 | Alyicin Gitlin (featured above) is involved in Biological Sciences. She has one publication accepted: Gitlin, A. R., and T. G. Whitham. She is applying climate predictions and spatial modelling to prioritizing riparian habitat restoration. She was awarded "Best MS Thesis" from NAU Biological Sciences for 2007-08.
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 | Ben Duval is conducting soil microorganism research and trace metal dynamics in response to climate change. He was invited to write a “News & Views” piece for the prestigious “Nature Geoscience.” |
And, for a full first year listing of the 80 Fellows, their research and accomplishments, please see below.
SFAz 2007-2008 Graduate Research Fellows - Full Listing by University
The listing of Graduate Research Fellows' information is as follows: Graduate Fellow First & Last Name / Undergraduate School / Current University Department / Accomplishments/Honors/Notables to Date
* Information is Provided by the representing University |
1. Mary Adde / McMaster Canada / Genetics / Enrolled in Genetics Spring 2008. Selected research interest is bioinformatic approaches to genomics in bacteria, especially the evolutionary basis of pathogenicity and coevolution of hosts and their pathogens or commensals.
2. Mingson Bi / Nanjing University, China / Computer Sciences / This fellowship has been instrumental in Minsong success in our program. He has jumped right into research and is doing very well in our program both in coursework and research.
3. Anne Blackwell / St. Louis University / Chemistry / Doing well with coursework; no specific research focus developed yet; expect the development in 2nd year.
4. Yelena Blank / University of California at San Diego (UCSD) / Psychology / Doing well with coursework; no specific research focus developed yet; expect the development in 2nd year.
5. Kyle Brown / Indiana University, Bloomington, IN / Hydrology & Water Resources / Dept Award Best Poster Presentation, El Dia del Agua 2008. Research: Will use isotopic and aqueous geochemistry to investigate the effects of anthropogenic impacts (i.e., irrigated agriculture which has caused large water table fluctuations and large amounts of nitrate in regional groundwater resources) and past climate changes (i.e., effects of large glacial outburst floods from Glacial Lake Missoula and the melting of Okanogan Lobe of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet during the Late Pleistocene) on the hydrology and biogeochemistry of the Columbia Plateau Basalt Aquifers in the Columbia Basin, Washington.
6. Alyson Cartwright / University of Minnesota – Duluth / Geosciences / Doing well with coursework; no specific research focus developed yet; expect the development in 2nd year.
7. Douglas Derrick / US Air Force Academy / Management Information Systems / 4.0 GPA (8 courses, 24 credit hours); Publication in Group Decision and Negotiation (forthcoming);Conference presentation at Centerfor Identification Technology Research. West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV. May 7, 2008;Conference presentation at Frontiers in Information Technology and Applications. Tucson, AZ. Feb 29, 2008; Primary author and prinicpal investigator for a new grant funded by the National Science Foundation, funded at $49,949; Co-author of a new grant funded by the National Science Foundation, funded at $40,000; Helped conduct an experiment which examines the differences between cultural non-verbal gestures when people deceive; Helped conduct an experiment which collects deceptive behavior data after participants had participated in mock crime; Assisted in coordination of a DHS site visit that led to the creation of a new research center at the University of Arizona; Invited to participate in a workshop on innovation at the University of Washington sponsored by Microsoft, June 9, 10 & 11, 2008.
8. Robert Fitak / Ohio State University / Genetics / Enrolled in Genetics Spring 2008. Awarded one year fellowship for 2008-09 from NSF-IGERT Program in Genomics, including stipend of $30,000 per year, coverage of tuition and health insurance, as well as $1,000 per year to use towards research expenses.
9. Bryan Helm / DePauw University / Ecology & Evolutionary Biology / "Honors: NSP GRFP Honorable Mention
Research Focus: The determination and consequences of body size."
10. Zhen Huang / The University of Arizona / Electrical & Computer Engineering / doing well with coursework; no specific research focus developed yet; expect the development in 2nd year.
11. Taryn Kong / Bernard Beruch College, City University of New York / Natural Resources / A participant in UA chapter of Students in Free Enterprise, or SIFE. She has been collaborating with UA law professor Leslye Obiora to introduce entrepreneurship and business practices to women in the town of Oguta in southeast Nigeria. Current research is investigating the species and techniques to best reclaim minelands in the American Southwest.
12. Sarah Lamore / Worchester State / Pharmacology & Toxicology / Presenting an abstract at the June20-25 2008 American Society for Photobiology Meeting. Title of the abstract: Closing the Vicious Cycle of Skin Cell Photo-oxidative Stress: The Lipid Peroxidation-derived Protein Epitope DHP is a Potent UVA-sensitizer.
13. Sarah Leung / ASU / Biomedical Engineering / Finalist for Hertz Foundation Graduate Fellowship; in last rotation before selection of research project
14 Sarah Liller / Chapman University / Biochemistry / Ms. Liller has been awarded a competitive NIH Biological Chemistry Program Training grant for 2008-2009 academic year.
15. Alison Macalady / Carleton College / Geography / 2008-09 CATTS Fellow, NSF-sponsored K-12 fellowship GSPC Travel Grant award, April 2008 ISPE Earth Fellowship, 2007-2008 UC-Irvine Radiocarbon Short Course invitee, July 2008
16. Reid McCarty / University of Arizona / Biochemistry / Mr. McCarty's research has been submitted to the journal Chemistry and Biology for publication. The manuscript received positive reviews and is currently in revision.
17. Jingqing Mu / Nanjing U of Sci and Tech, P.R. China / Electrical & Computer Engineering / Research focus: developing automated runtime software-to-hardware coversion to significantly reduce the power consumption of computing systems.
18. Dylan Odam / St. John's College / Molecular & Cellular Biology / Dylan has just begun to work in the lab andso does not yet have a clearly defined research program. However, she is beginning by focusing on mechanisms regulating cardiac myocyte specification in chicken embryos. She will look at the expression pattern and possible gene regulatory role of cMeso1, an early gene in precardiac mesoderm development. Eventually, she hopes to explore whether cMeso1 is playing a conserved role in the regulation of various key signaling pathways leading to the specification of cardiac myocytes in vertebrates as well as early chordates like Ciona intestinalis. Other possible research projects include further exploring and distinguishing the individual and combinatorial roles of some of the key signaling pathways involved in cardiac myocyte specification and development.
19. Andrew Penny / University of Alberta / Atmospheric Sciences / Andrew Penny has continued to progress well in core courses and elective units. He is hardworking and is making good progress with his research, which is to study the question of how a tropical cyclone forms using a high-resolution full-physics mesoscale model. The formation of tropical cyclones is one of the main unanswered questions in tropical meteorology. Mr. Penny is investigating the physical differences between cloud clusters that develop into tropical cyclones and those that do not using the model and there is considerable interest in this work. He presented his results at the premier U.S. conference for tropical meteorology – the 28th American Meteorological Society conference on Hurricanes and tropical meteorology in Orlando, FL April 28-May 2, 2008.
20. Lisa Philander / University of Minnesota / Arid Lands Resource Sciences / Presented a paper a the National Meeting of the South African Association of Botantists and attended a workshop of African Urban Agriculture.
21. Madhumitha Raghav / Birla Institute of Technology / Chemical & Environmental Engineering / She has being doing very well with her first two semesters here focused on getting her core coursework completed (current GPA: 4.0) and is just starting her summer's research activity. She was selected to attend (with support) a week-long workshop this summer for graduate students on Entrepreneurship and Commercialization of Technologies. This should be a really nice adjunct to her education and research which involves development of a new technology for treating arsenic-bearing hazardous wastes.
22. Adam Roberts / University of Alabama - Huntsville / Optical Sciences / Measured laser induced filamentation in air & compared filaments by Gaussian Beams with those from Bessel Beams.
23. Jeffrey Rottman / Mississippi State / Chemical & Environmental Engineering / Doing well with coursework; no specific research focus developed yet; expect the development in 2nd year.
24. Cody Routson / Prescott College / Geosciences / Doing well with coursework; no specific research focus developed yet; expect the development in 2nd year.
25. Daniel Schnurr / Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska / Cell Biology & Anatomy / Graduated Summa Cum Laude at Creighton University; May 2006. Academic Excellence Award May 2007, Creighton University; Dean's List, eight semesters at Creighton University; Manuscript in preparation: Rodgers L, Schnurr D, Camenisch TD. 2008. A novel technique for isolating mouse embryonic cardiomyocytes.
26. Corin Schowalter / Lousiana State University / Chemistry / Rhenium cluster derivatives having a cubic [Re6(µ3-Se)8]2+ core, with Re atoms arranged in an octahedron, show promise as catalysts for the synthesis of organic compounds. The rhenium cluster is proposed to facilitate processes such as alcohol addition to acetonitrile and olefin metathesis, while regenerating the original catalyst. The Lewis acidity of the core renders ligands susceptible to nucleophilic attack. The stability of the catalyst to air, water, and moderate heat allows for convenient storage of materials up to several months. My research interests focus on adapting the reaction conditions involving these rhenium cluster catalysts to control and complete the proposed catalytic cycles and expanding their applications in the synthesis of various organic molecules.
27. Deborah Shelton / Wake Forest University / Ecology & Evolutionary Biology / Research focus: DNA damage accumulation in zygospores of the facultatively sexual green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Will be presenting this work at The 13th International Chlamydomonas Conference held on the southern coast of France-May 27-June 1, 2008.
28. Alan Shumacher / University of Louisville / Physiological Sciences / Student Representative, Physioloigical Sciences Resources Committee, Accepted to Medical School, Fall 08.
29 Kaitlin Shupe Bergfield / University of Arizona / Neuroscience / Doing well with coursework; no specific research focus developed yet; expect the development in 2nd year.
30. Mark Teng / Brown / Cancer Biology / Laboratory Rotation Reports Fall 2007 and Spring 2008: Georg Wondrak, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology. The research in my first rotation was focused on using drugs that redox cycle continuously to selectively target cancer cells. Cancer cells have a high oxidation state necessary for their survival. Compounds that force them to continue to redox cycle will cause them to die due to apoptosis. Normal cells with their lower oxidative state will be resistant to this apoptosis. This lab taught me many basic science techniques put in the greater framework of drug development. It taught me teamwork as I had to work with medicinal chemists and pharmacists to obtain the redox compounds. I also gained insight into the strategies used to develop drugs that selectively target cancer in the body. Emmanuel Katsanis, MD, Professor of Pediatrics. The research in this lab was focused on the determination of the effects of anti-cancer drugs such as Gleevac on the body’s immune system, particularly Natural Killer cells, which have a role in tumor surveillance in a normal host.I found my rotation in this lab useful as it taught me techniques related to using live animal models. After performing experiments on cell lines, animal models are often used to confirm in vivo efficacy before moving on to human trials. Ronald Heimark, PhD, Professor of Surgery. Dr. Heimark’s lab does basic research in cell biology related to cancer. My work there was based on the FoxP1 promoter region that is implicated in N- to E-cadherin transition, a critical step in cancer evolution. Cells expressing the E-cadherin phenotype are able to metastasize and invade distant sites in the body. Understanding the regulation of this transition is key to our ability to prevent the evolution of malignant cancer phenotypes. In this rotation, I learned to use the luciferase reporter in a dual luciferase assay in constructs to determine the expression levels of genes that we are interested in. The ability to insert genes into vectors and measure their expression levels under various conditions is a very important tool in determining the biological pathways in cancer. Bernard Futscher, PhD, Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology. The Futscher lab is interested in cancer epigenetics. In recent years we have learned that genetics alone cannot account for the phenotypic variation seen in species. Beyond genetics, reversible modifications to the genetic code such as methylation and histone modification can affect the transcription of key genes that regulate cell cycle and growth. This is a relatively new and exciting field of research, and it is clear that research in epigenetics will continue to yield groundbreaking insights in cancer research. My rotation thus far in the Futscher lab has taught me a specific type of PCR reaction followed by sequencing – known as bisulfite sequencing. Bisulfite sequencing allows us to determine which genes may have been silenced by methylation of their promoter region. Genes that have methylated promoters are not expressed. This is one ways in which cancer cells inactivate tumor suppressor genes, allowing them to achieve unlimited growth potential and evasion of the body’s immune surveillance systems. Presentation: CBIO595C Cancer Biology Colloquium: Targeting the Redox Achilles Heel of Cancer Using Prooxidant Redox Cyclers (from Wondrak lab rotation.
31. Nicholas Trail / University of Arizona / Optical Sciences / First year course work/optics core courses, exploring research fields and opportunities.
32. Amy Vanderloop / Scripps College / Neuroscience / Doing well with coursework; no specific research focus developed yet; expect the development in 2nd year.
33. Kyle VandeLugt / University of Hawaii at Manoa / Soil, Water & Environmental Sciences / Board of Director for Aquculture without Frontiers; Contributing Editor for Global Aquaculture Advocate; Tsunami restoration projects in Banda Aceh; Editorial Board for Reviews in Fisheries Science; American Tilapia Association-Sec/Tres; Serve on State of Arizona invasive species control task force; Board of Director-Western Regional Aquaculture Center, US-Aid-Aquaculture CRSP, Outstanding Service Award; Egyptian Society for the Development of Fisheries Resoruces, Distinguished Service Award; World Aquculture Society, Honorary Lifetime Membership Award.
34. Michael Vaughan / Rhodes College / Plant Sciences / Doing well with coursework; no specific research focus developed yet; expect the development in 2nd year.
35. Liang Xue / China University of Geosciences (Beijing) / Hydrology & Water Resources / Research: Initiated a comprehensive literature survey on the state of the art in modeling uranium transport, in general, and at the Hanford 300 Area*, in particular, i.e., the uranium (U) plume in the Hanford 300 waste management area. A written summary and recommendations for developing our own model(s) available by August 2008. * Hanford DOE Superfund site, Richland, Washington.
1. Samrat Amin / University of Wyoming / Chemistry & Biochemistry / Research is progressing well.
2. Gregory Apker / Vanderbilt Univ. / Bioengineering / NSF 7th Int'l Summer School on Biocomplexity from Gene to Systems.
3. Suneth Attygalle / Cornell Univ. / Bioengineering and Arts, Media, & Engineering / Suneth has been a highly active researcher. In his first 8 months in AZ, he has made important contributions to the ground-breaking interdisciplinary work happening at ASU on mixed reality rehabilitation for stroke patients. His contributions are an important part of the partnership being developed between ASU and Banner in this area. He led the development of an electronic device for measuring reaching and reaction times as an assessment device for stroke patients before and after they complete training in the rehabilitation system. This device was used successfully with three patients during a study in spring 2008. A paper outlining the device's design was submitted to the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference. He is working with three other students to co-develop a low-cost reaching and grasping rehabilitation system that can be used at home or in the clinic. A prototype has already been crated and it will be sent home for validity testing with patients this June. A paper outlining the device's design was submitted to the 2008 Virtual Rehabilitation Conference.
4. Jonathan Badalamenti / Pennsylvania State Univ. / Life Sciences / Research is progressing well.
5. Sujogya Banerjee / Jadevpur University, India / Computing & Informatics / Research is progressing well.
6. Ayan Banerjee / Jadevpur University, India / Computing & Informatics / Research is progressing well.
7. Michael Baran / Marquette University / Bioengineering / Research is progressing well.
8. Hanin Bearat / ASU / Bioengineering / NSF 7th Int'l Summer School on Biocomplexity from Gene to Systems.
9. Jeffery Boyd / BYU, Provo, UT / Computer Science & Eng. And Arts, Media, & Engineering / Jeff received an award from Intel, "A low cost sensing platform to support stroke rehabilitation", that provided equipment for his research. Intel Research Seattle sponsored the Mobile Sensing Platform Research Initiative, which consisted of a grant of portable sensing devices. The proposal was focused on recording the reaching activities of the stroke patient. Specifically we were interested in monitoring the movement trajectory and velocity dynamics, in specific reaching tasks. The project is designed to scale beyond the specific therapeutic reaches, to routine reaches that occur as part of the everyday. By placing RFID tags on the objects that the patient reaches for, we can begin to contextualize reaching patterns with respect to the specific object. This is important, as objects have different grasping affordances, causing different reaching patterns. The call for proposals was identified by the SFAz Fellows, Jeffrey Boyd,. He also took the lead in visiting the Intel team in Seattle, and then worked on the proposal. He was helped in this task by two faculty at AME, Hari Sundaram (his principal advisor) and Winslow Burleson.
10. Maria Clavijo-Jordan / ASU / Bioengineering / NSF 7th Int'l Summer School on Biocomplexity from Gene to Systems
11. Arnab Dutta / Indian Inst. Technology, Bombay, India (M.Sc.) / Chemistry nad Biochemistry / Participation in GELSS Symposium; and participation in visitation weekend poster session of Chemistry & Biochemistry, March 2008.
12. Kelly Feder / Illinois Wesleyan Univ. / Life Sciences / Research is progressing well.
13. Christopher Harris / Univ. of Calif., Irvine / Computing and Informatics / Research is progressing well.
14. Christopher Harto / Ohio State U / Sustainability / Research is progressing well.
15. Thomas Heaton / ASU / Materials / Collaborative Interdisciplinary Research Community (CIRC) Scholar's Scholarship; technical talks at Materials Research Society (MRS) Spring 2008 meeting in San Francisco; Electrochemical Society (ECS) Fall 2007 meeting in Washington, D.C.; two articles published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry C (2007); three others currently in preparation.
16. Jordan Kennedy / ASU / Materials / Presentation: 2008 Spring MRS Conference.
17. Richard Kirian / UC Berkeley / Physics / Research project for fall 2007 titled "Laser-Alignment of an Hydrated Protein Bean" w/Prof. John Spence and research project for 2008 spring semester titled "Sample Preparation to Test 'Diffract Before Destroy' X-Ray Structure Measurements" with Prof. R. B. Doak.
18. Debin Li / Tsinghua University, China / Electrical Engineering / Research is progressing well.
19. Xiaowel Liu / Univ. of Science & Technology, China / Chem & Biochem / Research is progressing well.
20. Chris Madden / Ohio State U / Chemistry & Biochemistry / Awarded Biodesign research assistantship fall 2007 and fall 2008.
21. Chelsea McIntosh / University of Oklahoma / Chemistry & Biochemistry / Research is progressing well.
22. Brandon Mechtley / ASU / Arts, Media, & Engineering & Electrical Engineering / A new experimental course on mediating complex sytems for sustainability was developed during both semesters of the 2007-08 academic year, as a joint venture between AME and the global Inst. Of Sustainability (GIOS). This course was highly transdisciplinary, encompassing faculty and students from computer science, electrical engineering, media arts and sciences, music, psychology, and sustainability. In spring 2008, Brandon took one of the lead roles in developing an embodied hybrid physical-digital environment for complex systems understanding and decision making in the area of water use in the state of Arizona. Brandon's work thus far has laid the foundation for his PhD thesis work in user experience modeling and adaptation for decision making in complex systems, with application to sustainability concerns. His work has been featured on NBC Nightly News and at other high profile venues. Brandon contributed the following paper, which recevied the Best Student Paper Award: Thornburg, Wichern, Fink, Mechtley, Tu, Spanias. Robust Multi-Feature Segmentation and Indexing for Natural Sound Environments. 2007 IEEE Workshop on Content Based Multimedia Indexing (CBMI).
23. Lawrence Mickelson / ASU / Materials / Gave two oral presentations at the 212th and 213th Conferences of the Electrochemical Society (one at each conference); published a paper in the Journal of Physical Chemistry C 112, 1060 (2008); Lectured for three weeks in Prof. Friesen's undergrad. class on Electrical, Magnetic, and Optical Properties of Materials.
24. Vicki Moore / Univ. of Washington / Life Sciences / Research is progressing well.
25. Tuan Nguyen / Vietnam National Univ. / Computing & Informatics / Research is progressing well.
26. Mark Reese / Morgan State University, MD / Electrical Engineering / Research is progressing well.
27. Celest Riley / Oregon State University / Bioengineering / NSF 7th Int'l Summer School on Biocomplexity from Gene to Systems.
28. Jie Sheng / Nanjing University (PRC), & M.S. from Tongji University (PRC) / Civil & Environmental Engineering / 2006: Outstanding Student Scholarship; 2005: Honored Graduate of Nanjing Univ.; 2004: Nat. Scholarship 1st Prize; 2003: Nat. Scholarship 1st Prize & Outstanding Student of Nanjing Univ.; 2002: People's Scholarship 1st Prize & UPM Environmental Protection Scholarship 2nd Prize. Sheng, J; Xie, L; Zhai, GM et al. Liquid-Liquid Extraction/GC Determination of Nitrobenzene and its Degradation Products and Study on its Affecting Factors; Water Purification Technology, 2007; and a method of removing Cr(IV) in low concentration chromate wastewater; China Patent Certificate No. 200410064697.5 (6th inventor).
29. Donna Simon / ASU / Electrical Engineering / Research is progressing well.
30. Elizabeth Steenbergen / University of Wisconsin-Platteville / Electrical Engineering / Research is progressing well.
31. Bohumil Svoma / ASU / Geographical Sciences / 1st article for publication submitted.
32 Alex Volosin / ASU / Chemistry & Biochemistry / Research is progressing well.
33. Shanshan Wang / Zhejiang University, China / Electrical Engineering / Research is progressing well.
34. David Welch / Tulane University / Bioengineering / Research is progressing well.
35. Didem Yamak / Sabanci University -Turkey / Bioengineering / Research is progressing well.
36. Chao Zhou / Nanjing University (PRC) / Civil & Environmental Engineering / Research is progressing well.
37. Christine Zwart / ASU / Bioengineering / NSF Graduate Fellowship.
38. Xiaobo Zhang / Tsinghua University, China / Materials / Research is progressing well.
Northern Arizona University |
1. Brian Cardall / Utah State University (MS and BS) / Biological Sciences / One paper published, highlighted on journal cover (Cardall, B. L.; Bjerregaard, L. S.; and K. E. Mock (2007). Microsatellite markers for the June sucker (Chasmistes liorus mictus), Utah sucker (Catostomus ardens), and five other catostomid fishes of western North America. Molecular Ecology Notes 7(3): 457–460), two more in preparation, one research presentation, one grant proposal submitted. Attended GIS training course.
2. Ben Duval / New Mexico State U (MS), College of Wooster (BA) / Biological Sciences / Mr. Duval was invited to write a News & Views piece for the prestigious journal, “Nature Geoscience.” He analyzed a breakthrough study on molybdenum acquisition by soil microorganisms, placing it into the broader ecological and evolutionary context. His dissertation research is progressing well, with new and interesting findings about plant and soil trace metal dynamics in response to climatic change. He has found evidence that rising atmospheric CO2 causes plant concentrations of elemental toxins to increase and soil concentrations to decrease, a finding he is in the process of writing up for “Nature.”
3. Luke Evans / NAU (MA), Dartmouth College (BA) / Biological Sciences / One publication accepted: Evans, L. M., G. J. Allan, S. M. Shuster, S. A. Woolbright, and T. G. Whitham. Tree hybridization and genotypic variation drive cryptic speciation of a specialist mite herbivore. EVOLUTION (accepted with revision). One research presentation. Award for "Best Student Paper" at national Natural Lands meeting, fall 2007.
4. Alicyn Gitlin / NAU (MS), Arizona State University (BA) / Biological Sciences / One publication accepted: Gitlin, A. R., and T. G. Whitham. Applying climate predictions and spatial modelling to prioritizing riparian habitat restoration. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS (accepted with revision). Awarded "Best MS Thesis" from NAU Biological Sciences for 07-08.
5. Kevin Grady / NAU (MA), Miami University Oxford (BA) / Forestry / One paper published: Heneghan, L., Umek, L., Grady, K., Jabon, D., Bernau, B., Iatropulos, J., Workman, M. 2008. Ecological research can augment restoration practice in urban areas degraded by invasive species examples from Chicago Wilderness. Urban Ecosystems, Online First - printing in August. One ms submitted, two more in preparation. Other Accomplishments: Collaborating on International research with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama related to developing sustainable forestry practices in the Panama Canal watershed. Field course completed in Nicaragua leading to future publication on land-use impacts on the symbiosis between acacia and an ant mutualist.
6. Benjamin Jaffe / University of Chicago (MA), Franklin and Marshall College (BA) / Biological Sciences / One publication: MB Baker, SR Dastur, BD Jaffe, T Wong. 2008. Mating competition in Colorado potato beetles does not show a cost of insect resistance. Ann Entom Soc Am 101:371-377. One scientific meeting attended. Attended GIS training course in spring.
7. Leo Kenefic / Hood College (MS), ASU (BS) / Biological Sciences / Four publications, two first-authored: L.J. Kenefic, J. Beaudry, C. Trim, R. Daly, R. Parmar, S. Zanecki, L. Huynh, M.N. Van Ert, D.M. Wagner, T. Graham, P. Keim (2008) High resolution genotyping of Bacillus anthracis outbreak strains using four highly mutable single nucleotide repeat markers. Letters in Applied Microbiology 46 (5) , 600–603. Okinaka RT, Henrie M, Hill KK, Lowery KS, Van Ert M, Pearson T, Schupp J, Kenefic L, Beaudry J, Hofstadler SA, Jackson PJ, Keim P. Single nucleotide polymorphism typing of Bacillus anthracis from Sverdlovsk tissue. Emerg Infect Dis. 2008 Apr;14(4):653-6. Kenefic LJ, Beaudry J, Trim C, Huynh L, Zanecki S, Matthews M, Schupp J, Van Ert M, Keim P. A high resolution four-locus multiplex single nucleotide repeat (SNR) genotyping system in Bacillus anthracis. J Microbiol Methods. 2008 Jun;73(3):269-72. Epub 2007 Nov 22. Foster JT, Okinaka RT, Svensson R, Shaw K, De BK, Robison RA, Probert WS, Kenefic LJ, Brown WD, Keim P. Real-time PCR assays of single-nucleotide polymorphisms defining the major Brucella clades. J Clin Microbiol 2008 Jan;46(1):296-301.
8. Talima Pearson / NAU (MS), Earlham College (BS) / Biological Sciences / Three publications: Okinaka RT, Henrie M, Hill KK, Lowery KS, Van Ert M, Pearson T, Schupp J, Kenefic L, Beaudry J, Hofstadler SA, Jackson PJ, Keim P. Single nucleotide polymorphism typing of Bacillus anthracis from Sverdlovsk tissue. Emerg Infect Dis. 2008 Apr;14(4):653-6. PMID: 18394287 [PubMed - in process]; Tuanyok A, Auerbach RK, Brettin TS, Bruce DC, Munk AC, Detter JC, Pearson T, Hornstra H, Sermswan RW, Wuthiekanun V, Peacock SJ, Currie BJ, Keim P, Wagner DM. A horizontal gene transfer event defines two distinct groups within Burkholderia pseudomallei that have dissimilar geographic distributions. J Bacteriol. 2007 Dec;189(24):9044-9. Epub 2007 Oct 12. PMID: 17933898 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]; U'ren JM, Hornstra H, Pearson T, Schupp JM, Leadem B, Georgia S, Sermswan RW, Keim P. Fine-scale genetic diversity among Burkholderia pseudomallei soil isolates in northeast Thailand. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2007 Oct;73(20):6678-81. Epub 2007 Aug 24. PMID: 17720819 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]. Coinventor on one patent application.
9. Zhuoting Wu / China Agricultural University (BA) / Biological Sciences / Ms. Wu continues to make excellent progress toward her degree, examining C and N cycling in response to climatic and atmospheric change. She has found evidence that rising CO2 causes little C accumulation in soils, surprising and important given expectations that soils would sequester much of increasing atmospheric CO2. She is designing a gas exchange system for monitoring C balance in AZ ecosystems, and recently visited Stanford University's field site for training on measuring C balance.
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* "The largest of Its kind in the United States" denotes the largest, non-federally funded Graduate Research Fellowship program in the United States focused on research in science, engineering and the biomedical field.
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Detailed Graduate Research Fellow (GRF) Investment Award Program Questions |
Q: What is the Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) Program?
A: It is an investment program to recruit, support and retain top graduate students in Arizona with a focus on the strategic areas: Information and Communications Technology and Sustainable Systems and Biomedical Research >>.
With this GRF investment program, Science Foundation Arizona intends to strengthen existing research programs at universities in Arizona. This program does not support students to pursue medical school; the fellowship is for research studies only.
Q: Can I apply to the program?
A: You are qualified to submit an application on behalf of a prospective fellow to the GRF program if you are a VP of Research at a 501(C) (3) educational institution that grants Ph.D. or higher-level degrees or a Master degree the in aeronautical sciences. Students do not submit for this directly, but are selected by educational institutions where they have performed their undergraduate or some post-graduate studies.
Q: What is the due date for GRF proposals?
A: The proposal deadlines have not been announced for 2009. Deadlines are in the fall of each year prior to the funding year. For 2009 fellowship funding, applications will be accepted in the fall of 2008. Please check the website for the applications and deadlines when they are announced.
Q: How are the GRF proposals reviewed?
A: They are reviewed by a panel of expert panel of outside reviewers.
Q: How long will the fellows be funded?
A: The fellows are funded for 2 years with the second year dependent on progress.
Q: What is the amount of the GRF award?
A: GRF totals $40,000 annually, per Fellow that includes a stipend of $25,000 in supplemental allowance for research, $5,000 to offset any relocation costs or additional research expenses, and $10,000 for the institutional cost of the Fellow's education.
Q: Who can apply?
A: In general, we are seeking applicants who are biologists, chemists, physicists, bioengineers, chemical engineers, electrical engineers, materials engineers, computer scientists, social scientists and individuals with related degrees interested in addressing SFAz's key strategic focus areas. >>
Q: Where should I upload the GRF proposal?
A: The directions for submitting your proposal are located in the RFP located on the SFAz website. The web address for the upload is http://files.sfaz.org/
Q: What is the user name that I am being asked on the GRF secure login upload webpage located at http://files.sfaz.org/ ?
A: Your secure login username is grfdropbox. Ignore the prompt for the password as there is none.
Q: How many proposals may an institution submit?
A: Each institution is allowed to submit one proposal.
Q: Can the fellowship be transferred to a different student?
A: The fellowship may be changed to another student that the institution has chosen as long as SFAz agrees.
Q: How many fellows will the GRF program have?
A: In the first year 80 fellowships were awarded. In 2008, 100 additional were awarded.