Columbia Engineers Win Fourteen NSF Graduate Research Fellowships

The recipients are expected to become leaders in maintaining the nation’s technological infrastructure, security, and economic well-being.

Apr 14 2016


Top row, L-R: Sarah Amalia Berlinger, Yazmin Feliz, Efthymios Philip Papageorgiou; middle row, L-R: Kripa B. Patel, Ritish Patnaik, Adam John Pluchinsky; bottom row, L-R: Daniel Patrick Sawyer, Edmond William Zaia, Lucas Vargas Zeppetello. Not pictured: Connor Robert Bilchak, Thomas Effland, Diane Nahn Hee Kim, Fei-Tzin Lee, Raspberry Simpson.

Fourteen Columbia engineers were recently recognized with highly prized graduate research fellowships from the National Science Foundation. Out of a pool of 17,000 applicants, NSF made 2,000 award offers to young engineers, scientists, and researchers across the country. The recipients of this annual award are expected to become leaders in maintaining the nation’s technological infrastructure, security, and economic well-being.

Columbia Engineering’s 2016 NSF Graduate Research fellows are:

  • Sarah Amalia Berlinger, senior, Chemical Engineering
  • Connor Robert Bilchak, PhD candidate, Chemical Engineering
  • Thomas Effland, PhD candidate, Computer Science
  • Yazmin Feliz, PhD candidate, Mechanical Engineering
  • Diane Nahn Hee Kim BS’14, Biomedical Engineering
  • Fei-Tzin Lee BS’15, Computer Science
  • Efthymios Philip Papageorgiou BS’14, Electrical Engineering
  • Kripa B. Patel, PhD candidate, Biomedical Engineering
  • Ritish Patnaik, senior, Biomedical Engineering
  • Adam John Pluchinsky, senior, Biomedical Engineering
  • Daniel Patrick Sawyer, senior, Electrical Engineering
  • Raspberry Simpson BS’14, Applied Physics
  • Edmond William Zaia BS’12, Chemical Engineering
  • Lucas Vargas Zeppetello, senior, Applied Physics

The fellows will receive an annual stipend of $34,000 for three years, along with a $12,000 cost of education allowance for tuition and fees and opportunities for professional development around the world. Prior recipients include numerous Nobel Prize winners, Google founder Sergey Brin, and U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu.

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