UC Davis Students Secure NSF Graduate Research Fellowships for STEM Research
Five students affiliated with the University of California, Davis, College of Engineering will receive Graduate Research Fellowships from the National Science Foundation, or NSF.
These five students are connected to the Departments of Computer Science, Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering and are all pursuing research-based degrees in STEM fields. They are among the 2,500 selected from a highly competitive pool of 14,000 applicants, based on their intellectual merit and potential to advance scientific innovation.
Through the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program, the students will receive financial support over the next five years.
"GRFP fellows have driven remarkable progress across the STEM landscape, from pioneering basic research and transformative technologies to unlocking critical advances in national security and other key areas, to founding some of the nation's most innovative companies,” said Brian Stone, performing the duties of the NSF director. “I'm excited to see how these emerging STEM leaders will shape the future over the course of their careers."
Meet the Recipients
Brendan Riley Barlow is pursuing a Ph.D. in integrative pathobiology. He is working with Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering Jinhwan Kim in the Laboratory for Cell Nanoengineering to develop a noninvasive method for tracking natural killer cell immunotherapy in cancer patients using a combination of nanotechnology and ultrasound-guided photoacoustic imaging. Barlow hopes to create a system that enables early, predictive assessments of treatment effectiveness without relying on invasive biopsies.
Kim Borne Calabrese is earning a Ph.D. in applied math. Calabrese’s research with Professor of Computer Science David Doty explores the theoretical foundations of chemical computing, specifically using chemical reaction networks as a kind of programming language for synthetically engineered systems. Calabrese’s work asks: “What behaviors can we design synthetic chemicals to perform, and how do our modeling choices shape what's possible?”
Sam Luft is pursuing a Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering with a focus on geotechnical engineering under the advisement of Assistant Professor Michael Gardner and Professor Jason Dejong, both of civil and environmental engineering. Through his research, Luft aims to improve the prediction and prevention of dam failures by integrating physical experiments and modeling to better understand how these failures initiate and progress.
Parker McMillan, a current master’s student, will pursue a Ph.D. in mechanical and aerospace engineering, thanks to this fellowship. His research in the Davis Applied Aerodynamic Lab, led by Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Camli Badrya, focuses on flow control for low-Reynolds-number wings to improve aerodynamic performance at low speeds and in turbulent, low-altitude conditions.
Terry Tong is currently an undergraduate student researcher — full-time at the University of Pennsylvania and part-time at UC Davis — finishing his Bachelor of Science degree in computer science and engineering under the co-advisement of Associate Professor Muhao Chen and Assistant Professor Zhe Zhao in the Department of Computer Science. Tong’s research focuses on large language model reasoning and neuro-symbolic methods to improve reliability, robustness and performance in foundational models.
