Seven students in the College and recent graduates were recently announced as recipients of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship, an award that funds graduate study and research-based master’s or doctoral degrees in math and sciences.

The NSF offers approximately 1,000 graduate fellowships in its annual competition. The fellowships provide students with funding for three years of graduate study.

The NSF sought “individuals who demonstrate their potential to successfully complete graduate degree programs in disciplines relevant to the mission of the National Science Foundation.”

According to the NSF, the objective for graduate research in these fields is to “ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics…. [These individuals] will be crucial to maintaining and advancing the nation’s technological infrastructure and national security as well as contributing to the economic well being of society at large.”

The award winners and their disciplines are: third-year Stephen Brusatte, geophysical sciences; Nathaniel Hendren (A.B. ’05), economics; Michal Ran (A.B. ’05), cultural anthropology; Christine Romano (S.B. ’05), chemistry; David Strubbe (S.B. ’05), physics; Trinh Tran (A.B. ’01), sociology; Andrew Fitzpatrick (S.B. ’04), physics.

With academic focuses ranging from anthropology to physics, the winners will continue their studies at University of California–Berkley, California Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, and Columbia University.

The NSF also distinguished 25 U of C applicants with honorable mentions in deciding this year’s fellowship recipients.