Four Students Selected as National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellows

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Four University of Arkansas students – two recent graduates and two undergraduates – have won National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships for the upcoming academic year. Tyler Bowman of Greenbrier, Kristin Kovach of Little Rock, Raymond Walter of Clarkridge, and Derrek Wilson of Liberal, Mo., will receive $30,000 fellowships that are renewable for up to three years.

Two recent graduates, Danielle Frechette and Ryan Shinabery received honorable mentions.

The graduate fellowship program is one of the National Science Foundation’s oldest and most highly competitive, with roots in the foundation’s original 1950 charter and offering support for graduate study in all scientific disciplines. NSF graduate fellows are promising young mathematicians, scientists and engineers who are expected to pursue lifelong careers marked by significant contributions to research, teaching and industrial applications in science, mathematics and engineering.

“Our students winning these incredibly competitive awards at the national level is one of the real highlights of the spring each year,” said Chancellor G. David Gearhart. “The NSF Graduate Research Fellowships are highly competitively and speak to the extraordinary accomplishments of our students, of the dedicated faculty who support them, and of their departments and colleges. It also points to the positive direction we are headed as a university and as a state.  These outstanding students give me every confidence that we are well on our way to becoming a top 50 research institution. ”

Tyler Bowman

Tyler Bowman graduated from the U of A in 2012 as an electrical engineering major with math and Spanish minors. As an undergraduate he was an Honors College student, a Chancellor’s Scholar and a Distinguished Governor’s Scholar. Bowman worked with students last year at the J.O. Kelly Middle School in Springdale to enrich the students’ learning of physics through the NSF GK-12 Fellowship program. He is currently a graduate student in electrical engineering, continuing to work with his research mentor, Magda El-Shenawee, on Terahertz imaging of breast cancer tissue.

Kristin Kovach

Kristin Kovach is a senior majoring in physics and chemical engineering. She is an Honors College student completing an honors research project with her mentor, Greg Salamo. Kovach is a Bodenhamer Fellow and an Arkansas Distinguished Governor’s Scholar. Her research focuses on microbubbles, a new technique that may be useful in dissolving blood clots, increasing drug permeability in the body, and delivering drugs to targeted areas of the body. She received an EPSCoR Fellowship Grant in support of her research, and participated in a National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign last summer.

Raymond Walter

Raymond Walter is majoring in physics, mathematics and economics. He is a senior Honors College student completing two honors research projects, one in mathematics and the second in physics. Walter is a Chancellor’s Merit Scholar and an Arkansas Distinguished Governor’s Scholar. He presented a paper at the 2012 American Mathematical Society Meeting, has also presented on topics in physics and has a co-authored paper in progress.

Derrek Wilson majored in physics with minors in photonics and mathematics and graduated in 2012. He received the University of Arkansas Leadership Scholarship and was an NSF Honorable Mention last year. His research was on a new method of total internal reflection microscopy conducted with research mentor Surendra Singh. He is currently attending graduate school at Kansas State University.

“These awards reflect the strength of University of Arkansas programs by recognizing both research and education missions of the university,” said Jim Rankin, vice provost for research and economic development.

NSF provides the fellowship institution, on behalf of each fellow, a cost-of-education allowance of $12,000 per year. Fellows and those who receive honorable mention are also given access to the supercomputer TeraGrid for their research.

“NSF awards go to the most promising students in the country. Congratulations to these young researchers and their mentors for this outstanding recognition,” said Cynthia Sagers, interim associate vice provost for research and economic development.