NSF Selects Three UA Students for ‘Highly Competitive’ Fellowships

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The National Science Foundation selected three University of Alabama students – from among more than 12,000 applicants nationwide – for its Graduate Research Fellowship Program.

“The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines relevant to the mission of the Foundation,” according to the NSF. The “highly competitive” program is designed to ensure the vitality of the United States’ scientific and technological workforce and to reinforce its diversity, the foundation stated.

Zachary Coppens, a senior from Madison studying mechanical engineering in UA’s College of Engineering; Amanda Hanninen, a first-year master’s degree student from Tuscaloosa studying biological sciences in UA’s College of Arts and Sciences; and Rachel McCarty, a graduate student from Bessemer pursuing a doctorate in UA’s College of Engineering, were selected.

The awards, up to $121,500 per fellowship, according to NSF, come with annual stipends to be used in the pursuit of a research-based master’s or doctoral degree.

Coppens’ academic research has focused on mesoscale solid rocket motors by analyzing experimental thrust profile data using chaos theory applications. He has had research internship experience at ADTRAN, NASA and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Dr. John Baker, professor of mechanical engineering, was his faculty adviser and one of his research mentors.

Hanninen has worked with Dr. Ryan Earley, assistant professor in the biological sciences department, on discovering how hormones mediate metabolic changes in response to stressful environments. She studies the mangrove rivulus, a self-fertilizing, hermaphroditic species of fish that lives in mangrove ecosystems, in her research.

McCarty, who earned her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from UA in 2007, has focused on engineering and the human body through multiple projects in her academic research. Her dissertation project involves working with the human vestibular system, testing balance and the inner ear. Dr. Keith Williams, associate professor of mechanical engineering, has been her adviser.

By underwriting the training of graduate students with the demonstrated potential to be high-achieving scientists and engineers, the Graduate Research Fellowship Program represents long-range investments for the future of society, according to the NSF.

Fellowships were awarded to 2,000 students, less than 17 percent of those who applied.

UA’s College of Arts and Sciences is the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the USA Today Academic All American Team.

In 1837, The University of Alabama became one of the first five universities in the nation to offer engineering classes.Today, UA’s fully accredited College of Engineering has more than 2,700 students and more than 100 faculty. In the last eight years, students in the College have been named USA Today All-USA College Academic Team members, Goldwater scholars, Hollings scholars and Portz scholars.