UCF Shines in 2024: 11 Students Recognized with Prestigious NSF Fellowships

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The University of Central Florida (UCF) has announced that eleven of its students have been recognized by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowships program for 2024. This program supports graduate students in STEM fields who are pursuing research-based degrees at accredited U.S. institutions. Five UCF alumni won the fellowship, and six received honorable mentions.

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship is competitive and offers significant financial support. Each fellowship includes a three-year stipend of $37,000 per year and an educational allowance of $16,000 annually for the institution, totaling $159,000 per fellowship. This funding aims to develop future STEM leaders.

Morgan Bauer, director of the Office of Prestigious Awards at UCF’s Burnett Honors College, noted the importance of faculty support and academic programs in preparing candidates for these awards. Associate Professor Laurie Pinkert, from the Writing and Rhetoric department, played a key role in guiding students through the application process.

The fellowship recipients include Laurie Agosto, a 2019 alum in applied sciences and biology, and Stephanie Washburn, a 2024 psychology alum with a statistics minor. The honorable mentions feature Rachel Cooper, a doctoral student in the College of Sciences, and Fahad Nabid, a 2023 aerospace engineering alum, highlighting the diverse disciplines supported by the NSF Fellowship.

Saoulkie Bertin, a 2023 interdisciplinary studies alum, prepared for the fellowship through her participation in the Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program. Her research at Johns Hopkins University and a global health internship in Puerto Rico earned her the FDOH Health Equity Hero Award for her community work in Orange County.