MSU well-represented in 2025 class of NSF Graduate Research Fellows
Contact: Mary Pollitz
STARKVILLE, Miss.—Three Mississippi State seniors are among this year’s recipients of the National Science Foundation’s prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship.
The fellowship recognizes outstanding graduate students who have demonstrated the potential to be high-achieving scientists and engineers. It provides three years of scholarship support and an annual stipend of $37,000.
The soon-to-be MSU graduates receiving fellowships this year are:
—Alyssa Williams, senior biochemistry and psychology major minoring in cognitive science from Franklin, Tennessee, plans to attend Yale University
—Chandler Woo, senior chemistry major from Hendersonville, Tennessee, plans to attend Yale University
—Owen Smith, senior industrial engineering major from Ocean Springs, plans to continue studies at MSU
Williams is a Fulbright Scholar semi-finalist, Barry Goldwater Scholar and an Astronaut Scholar. She will conduct research investigating learning and memory through the lens of computational modeling and neuroimaging, and she plans to teach at the university level.
“It is an incredible honor, and I’m so excited to start my Ph.D. with three years of funding,” she said. “The support from NSF will not only allow me more flexibility in my research, but it will also open up avenues for collaboration and professional development that will substantially help me to achieve my end goal of pursuing a career in academia.”
Woo has organic and organometallic synthesis research experience from MSU and Yale. He served as the president of Student Members of the American Chemical Society and as an ambassador for MSU’s College of Arts and Sciences.
“Receiving this fellowship was a fulfilling experience because it validated the merit of my research ideas,” he said. “This award allows me to chase after scientific discovery and my own curiosity without financial constraints.”
Smith received the Bagley College of Engineering Research Award, served as an undergraduate researcher with MSU’s Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and was a member of the Bulldog Motorsports Formula SAE team.
“This fellowship helps me cover tuition, research funds and most other necessities I have to face in graduate school, meaning I can devote myself fully to research and furthering my own skills academically,” he said. “I don’t have to worry about finances, and I will be much better set for when I enter the professional workforce.”
MSU graduate students receiving NSF GRF honorable mentions are:
—Jennavieve Lambeth, master's student in applied anthropology from Fort Walton Beach, Florida.
—John Kees, doctoral student in biological sciences from Jackson
The NSF awarded 1,000 Graduate Research Fellowships this year. For more on the NSF program, visit www.nfsgrfp.org.
Learn more about MSU undergraduate research opportunities at www.honors.msstate.edu/research.
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