Three recent graduates of Clarkson University were among the list of National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP) Honorable Mention awardees announced in late March.
The NSF accords Honorable Mention to meritorious applicants who do not receive Fellowship awards. The recognition is considered a significant national academic achievement and provides access to cyberinfrastructure resources through the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE). This year, the NSF awarded 1,827 honorable mention designations.
John Carl Hadynski is a doctoral student in Chemistry at Clarkson University and graduated with great distinction in 2018 with a B.S. in Chemistry and a minor in communication from Clarkson.
Hadynski is conducting his graduate research at Clarkson with the Wriedt Functional Materials Design and X-ray Diffraction Laboratory in the Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Science. Hadynski’s research explores metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as platforms for the controlled stabilization of UV-filters for advanced sunscreens.
Hadynski wants to make his career impact in four ways: teaching in the classroom, promoting STEM outside the classroom, collaborating with industry, and engaging with the scientific community. Hadynski aims to be a university professor to teach and expand his research to other global issues like solar energy or medicine delivery, exploring emerging materials such as covalent organic frameworks (COFs) and metal-organic cages (MOCs). He hopes to build broader collaboration between academia and industry to participate in work that can be applied outside the scope of research laboratories.
Andrew Couperus graduated from Clarkson with great distinction in May of 2017 with a B.S. in Physics and a minor in mathematics. He is now a second-year doctoral student at Georgia State University in the Department of Physics and Astronomy working with Todd Henry as part of the Research Consortium on Nearby Stars (RECONS) group, investigating the photometric variability of nearby M dwarf stars.
Mackenna Wood graduated from Clarkson with great distinction and an Honors B.S. in Physics in May 2018. She is attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for her graduate work in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
The purpose of the NSF GRFP is to help ensure the vitality and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing full-time research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) or in STEM education. The GRFP provides three years of support for the graduate education of individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant research achievements in STEM or STEM education.
The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program is administered at Clarkson University through Karyn Crispo, Associate Director of Advising and Scholarship Preparation. Karyn holds workshops and meetings between July and October for students interested in applying for a NSF GRFP; she can be reached at kcrispo@clarkson.edu or 315-268-6006.
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