By Doug Hecox
What sets a particular university apart from the nearly 3,000 four-year colleges
in the United States?
For research institutions such as the University of Wyoming, the number of National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellows who chose to study here is truly something to brag about. While a university would be lucky to have one or two, UW is home to an impressive six.
Since its creation in 1952, the NSF has awarded these grants to stimulate the nation’s STEM workforce the old-fashioned way: by investing in it. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
It’s an investment that has paid off. Over the years, more than 40 fellows—known as “GRFs”—have become Nobel laureates, and more than 440 have become members of the National Academy of Sciences. Past fellows include Google Inc. co-founder Sergey Brin, former U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Freakonomics co-author Steven Levitt.
The program provides three years of financial support to leading graduate students to help them pursue research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in STEM disciplines. They receive an annual stipend and can conduct their research at any accredited U.S. graduate education institution they choose.
To say it is a competitive program is an understatement. Last year alone, the NSF received more than 12,000 applications, of which approximately 2,000 were chosen.
“Simply stated, these fellowships are very difficult to obtain,” says Bill Gern, UW’s vice president for research and economic development. “You have to be one of the very best graduate students nationwide to obtain one of these fellowships. The fact that a student wants to use their NSF fellowship at UW is a great testament to the major professor and the specific graduate program.”
UW’s six GRFs—all doctoral students—represent a wide array of scientific research. For example, Emily Beagle of Sheridan, Wyo., is applying her scientific research to a basic Western issue with potentially global ramifications—finding productive uses for lodgepole pine trees killed by beetles.
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