Dear Graduate Students,
When I heard that Lucy Mugambi received the International Peace Scholarship, I was delighted. I had previously talked to her and knew about her research. I asked if she would be willing to share her advice for applying for funding and am happy to share her excellent advice below.
Shelley
My name is Sarah Renkert and I am a Ph.D. student in Applied Sociocultural Anthropology. I have applied to multiple fellowships and I would like to share five key takeaways to success.
Dear Graduate Students,
Katherine Guns’ last NSF GRFP application was as close to perfect as I’ve seen an application. So I was surprised when she did not receive the fellowship. However, I was delighted to learn that, as she explains below, she did end up being very successful in receiving funding. Read her wonderful story below.
Hello fellow funding seekers!
My name is Brandon Hellman, and I am a third year PhD student in Optical Sciences. I am developing new LIDAR (3D mapping, input) and 3D display (output) systems. LIDAR is very important for autonomous vehicles: a traditional camera does not offer clear enough depth-perception information for a car to drive itself. 3D display . . . and who doesn’t want to see a floating Princess Leia hologram?
My name is Andrew Kunihiro and I am a 5th year PhD student in the Department of Nutritional Sciences. My dissertation research focuses on the metabolism and bioactivity of curcumin, a dietary polyphenol from the turmeric rhizome. Specifically, I look at how curcumin can prevent bone destruction caused by bone-metastatic breast cancer.
My name is Alison Elder and I am starting the first year of my PhD in Geography. My research to date focuses on water resource issues in arid lands. My MA project examined the effects of large-scale irrigated agriculture development processes on rural livelihoods and water supply in southeastern Morocco. I have also been a part of a project at the University of Arizona for the last three years looking at green infrastructure adoption and implementation in Tucson and in other cities across Arizona.
Dear Graduate Students,
Hello Graduate Students,
I first met Corbin in 2018 when he applied to the NSF GRFP. I helped him along that process, and, in the subsequent years, he has helped me help other students. Corbin has some advice for any fellowship applicant, but particularly those in the health sciences.
My name is Elise Bell, and I’m a fourth year PhD candidate in the Department of Linguistics. My research focuses on the variety of Welsh that is spoken in the Patagonia region of Argentina. My dissertation work is an examination of the ways that bilingualism with Spanish affects the way Argentinean Welsh speakers perceive and produce Welsh vowels. Because my research requires fieldwork to collect data, I’ve applied to quite a few fellowships and grants to fund my research related travel.
Dear Graduate Students,
In the coming few months, the GradFunding Advice will come from your fellow graduate students across campus. When considering whom to invite to write an article, I’ve asked students who I believe will have something valuable to say to other graduate students across campus. Meg Mills-Novoa has been persistent in looking for and applying for funding; her efforts have paid off.
Because many funding opportunities require US citizenship or residency, finding funding can be particularly difficult for international students. However, opportunities do exist for international students. As I have worked with Saleh Ahmed, an international student in Arid Lands Resource Sciences, I have been impressed with his persistence in looking for and applying for funding. I have also been impressed with the way in which his work and ideas have developed over the past year. I asked him to share his experience applying for funding with all of you.
Hi! My name is Greg Chism, and I am a fourth year PhD candidate in the Entomology and Insect Science graduate interdisciplinary program.
My name is Alison Elder and I am starting the first year of my PhD in Geography. My research to date focuses on water resource issues in arid lands. My MA project examined the effects of large-scale irrigated agriculture development processes on rural livelihoods and water supply in southeastern Morocco.
Hola! My name is Laura Zambrano-Vazquez and I am a graduate student in the Psychology Department at the University of Arizona. I was fortunate enough to be awarded the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) in 2011.
My name is Diana Meter and I’m a 4th year PhD student in Family Studies and Human Development at the University of Arizona. I became a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow in 2012.
My name is Andrea Stevens and I am in the 3rd year of my PhD program in the Geosciences Department at the University of Arizona. I received my NSF Graduate Research Fellowship the second time I applied in 2014.
Hi! My name is Ryan Watson I am receiving my PhD in Family Studies and Human Development (FSHD) at the University of Arizona. The National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) assisted my work from 2011-2014.
My name is Linnea Honeker. I am a Graduate Editor and I am working toward my Ph.D. in Environmental Science with a Microbiology Minor in the Department of Soil, Water, and Environmental Sciences. I was awarded the NSF GRF in 2013.
Hello everyone! My name is Katie Leight and I am a fourth year student in the Chemistry PhD program at the University of Arizona. I do analytical and organic research in the McGrath and Saavedra labs. I received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF GRFP) in 2013, and I am a graduate editor.
Hi! I’m Antonio Gómez, and I was a Master’s student in the Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Entomology and Insect Science at the U of A from the fall of 2012 to the summer of 2014. I’m on a short break with lots of trips in the field to collect beetles in our wonderful outdoors in southern Arizona before moving to Oregon to start a Ph.D. in the Integrative Biology Department.
My name is Tamee Albrecht. I am a second-year PhD student in the School of Geography and Development. My research explores the implications of changes in the timing and location of water availability on water security. In the Himalayan foothills of South Asia, groundwater springs are the primary source of water for domestic and irrigation uses in rural villages, however, groundwater spring flows have been declining due to climate change and expanding hydropower development.
My name is Kat Compton and I’m in the 4th year of my PhD program in Geosciences at the University of Arizona. I received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship in 2012.
Hi! My name is Ben Rackham. I’m a PhD student in the astronomy program at the University of Arizona. I started a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) in 2014.
