MSE is off-the-charts proud to announce that a record 12 MSE-affiliated students have received NSF Graduate Research Fellowships (GRFPs) for the 2026-27 academic year. This number smashes the previous record of seven students set in 2024.

“A record number of NSF Fellows connected to MSE underscores our strength end-to-end: We prepare undergraduates to reach the highest levels of achievement, and top PhD fellowship recipients choose Michigan to advance their scientific and career goals,” stated MSE chair Elizabeth Holm.

"Following a year where GRFP awards were significantly reduced nationwide, this success is a clear endorsement of our research community," said Associate Professor Geeta Mehta, co-chair of the MSE Ph.D. program. "We are thrilled to see our students recognized for their hard work and potential. These fellowships aren't just accolades; they highlight our shared mission to push the boundaries of materials science."

Mehta noted that this year’s success likely stems from the department’s proactive coaching initiatives, including the Professional Development Graduate Toolkit series, panel discussion featuring MSE faculty and fellowship winners from previous years, and one-on-one faculty and student proposal feedback pairing to provide students with critical pre-submission feedback from experts in their specific research areas.

The students who received NSF GRFP awards, along with a brief description of their research, are listed below:

MSE Undergraduates

Trevor Balduck '26 (Marquis group). Trevor studies how adding different elements to special high-performance metals (Ni-based superalloys) affects how well they resist damage from oxidation (like rusting). Next year Trevor will be pursuing a Ph.D. at U-M MSE.

Matteo Carcassi '26 (Goldman group). Matteo's research involves using ion beams to probe the atomic structure of semiconductor materials, and computational techniques to validate their stability. Next year Matteo will be pursuing a Ph.D. in MSE at MIT.

MSE Ph.D. students

Divya Iyer (Li group). Divya is a 1st-year Ph.D. student from Georgia Tech who works with single particle electrochemistry of Li-ion battery particles to probe the intrinsic behavior of these particles and determine the relationship between their structure, composition, and properties.

Nicole Kormos (Piotrowski-Daspit group), a first-year Ph.D. student from U-M Dearborn. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is a polymer commonly used to "camouflage" nanoparticle therapeutics and allow them to reach more places in the body, however, it has been found to trigger immune reactions. Therefore, Nicole's research aims to synthesize and study an alternative family of polymers that provide a similar camouflaging effect without the immune response, making nanoparticle therapeutics safer and more effective.

Simone Lang - An incoming Ph.D. student from Texas Woman’s University, Simone’s research investigates microstructural evolution in metals during failure, with the goal of understanding how internal structure changes shape when and how materials break. 

Emma Nei, incoming Ph.D. student from Stevens Institute of Technology (NJ), focuses on using computational modeling tools to investigate how magnesium dopants affect the performance of gallium nitride semiconductors, an essential material for developing next-generation power electronics. The main challenge in semiconductor materials design is overcoming dopant self-compensation mechanisms, and Emma's proposal aims to provide insight into how subtle atomic interactions dictate high-performance device functionality and improve efficiency.

Sarah Paguaga (Bucsek group). A first-year Ph.D. student from Clemson, Sarah is investigating the formation and growth of crystal defects in lightweight metals using advanced dark-field X-ray imaging. Linking these insights to mechanical performance supports the design of stronger, more efficient materials.

Camellia Schwartzman (Dasgupta group), a first-year Ph.D. student from Macalester College. The electrocatalytic conversion of CO₂ driven by electricity provides a potential pathway to more sustainable chemicals by converting waste CO₂ into value-added products. Camellia is studying the way copper, as a catalyst, deforms and redeposits during a reaction and ways to regenerate it to extend its useful lifespan to aid the commercialization of these technologies.

Amelia Seropian (McNeil group). A first-year Ph.D. Macro student from the University of Chicago, Amelia's research focuses on using electrochemistry to upcycle halogenated plastic waste.

Non-MSE students working in MSE labs

Mihkia Rayan (BME) (Mehta group), Mihika’s research has focused on cellular behavior, including developing ovarian cancer co-culture models to study how cell-cell interactions influence metastasis and examining the mechanisms of early embryonic development. Her upcoming research at UC San Diego will continue to explore interactions between cancer and immune cells, with particular emphasis on the role of matrix mechanical cues in the tumor microenvironment.

Jeremy Shen '26 (ECE) (Hovden group), uses in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to control and observe the atomic scale response of electronic states in 2D materials and ferroelectric materials under heating and applied electric fields. Jeremy's research showed how charge density waves--electron crystals--melt and disorder through a nearly universal mechanism in low-dimensional materials.