The De Novo Fellowship encourages underrepresented STEM students to participate in a research project.
This prestigious fellowship is awarded to outstanding students from underrepresented groups in the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering to work on well-crafted research projects with faculty mentors who are committed to increasing diversity in STEM. These fellowships provide student stipends for up to 10 weeks of full-time research plus conference expenses to present posters on their research in the following academic year.
De Novo Fellowships: Congratulations to the following engineering students who have been awarded De Novo Fellowships, encouraging underrepresented STEM students to participate in a faculty-advised research project:
Joshua (Jichan) Seo
Graduation Year: 2020
Major: Civil, Environmental, and Sustainable Engineering
Advisor: Tonya Nilsson, Hisham Said
Project: Designing 3D Printable Green Concrete Mix
Karla Raigoza
Graduation Year: 2021
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Mohammad Ayoubi
Project: Development of Reinforcement Learning Methods Applied to Aircraft Turbulence
Joseph Pham
Graduation Year: 2023
Major: Computer Science and Engineering
Advisor: Korin Wheeler (Chemistry)
Project: Predictive Analysis Via Machine Learning into the Transfer of Nanomaterials in the Environment
Carlos Mercado
Graduation Year: 2020
Major: Computer Science and Engineering
Advisor: Christopher Kitts
Project: Automated Mission Control Activities for NASA Spacecraft
Sruthi Sakthivel
Graduation Year: 2022
Major: Bioengineering
Advisor: Zhiwen (Jonathan) Zhang
Project: In Vivo Protein Ligation for Precision Cancer Therapy
Application and Eligibility
Requirements for the application:
(1) A description of the research project and the student’s role in it
(2) A student statement on how diversity benefits an engineering research environment
(3) A faculty letter of support that includes a statement on inclusivity in STEM.
Before applying for this fellowship, a student should discuss and develop a potential research project with her/his SoE faculty mentor. Selection will be based on the student’s application, the research project, and the faculty mentor’s statement on inclusivity in STEM.
Students must have good academic standing in their engineering major.
First-generation students, women, non-gender conforming students, students who identify as African-American, LatinX, Asian Pacific Islander, Native American, and/or Native Alaskan are especially encouraged to apply.