April 26, 2019

A record-breaking five students from the University of Houston (UH) have received the nationally-competitive National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) awards for 2019. UH has never had more than two recipients in a single year.

The NSF GRFP is a highly competitive fellowship program that recognizes outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based Master's and doctoral degrees. Students are selected based on their potential to be the scientific leaders and innovators of the future. Fellows receive a financial package including a $34,000 stipend and a $12,000 cost of education allowance for tuition and fees (paid to the institution) for up to three years.

“Our students continue to push themselves into more and more competitive scholarships and fellowships” said Paula Myrick Short, UH System senior vice chancellor for academic affairs and UH senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. “This year, 2019, has been an outstanding year for students to receive nationally-competitive awards which further the University’s reputation.”

The graduate recipients are:

• Jose Daniel Velazco-Garcia, Computer Science Ph.D. program
• Stephanie E. Suarez, Geology Ph.D. program
• Faheem Ershad, Biomedical Engineering Ph.D. program

The undergraduate recipients are:

• Erin A. Miller, Geoscience BS, Dec. 2018
• Audrey Wang, Electrical Engineering BS, expected May 2019

In addition, two graduate students received Honorable Mention in the 2019 NSF GRFP competition:

• Steban S. Soto, Computer Engineering BS, Electrical Engineering; MS expected Fall 2019
• Brandon J. Carlos, Developmental, Cognitive, and Behavior Neuroscience PhD program

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