Ghael Fobes ’22, an alumnus of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, has been named a 2025 Marshall Scholar.

The Marshall Scholarship program was created by an Act of British Parliament in 1953 as a living memorial to former U.S. Secretary of State Gen. George C. Marshall and American assistance provided following World War II. The scholarship allows up to three years of fully funded graduate study in any academic topic at any university in the United Kingdom. Fobes is one of 36 students selected from around the country and is Syracuse University’s seventh Marshall Scholar.

“Marshall Scholars continue to represent the very best of American society, dedicating their time and effort to address some of the great challenges of our time, from cyber security and artificial intelligence to advancing our knowledge of the universe,” says Dame Karen Pierce, British ambassador to the U.S. “The Marshall Scholarship remains an integral part of the U.K.-U.S. relationship, established through British gratitude to General Marshall at the end of WWII. We are delighted to welcome such a diverse and talented group of students to the U.K. next year as they continue their studies at some of the U.K.’s top academic institutions.”

Fobes plans to pursue two master’s degrees—in data and artificial intelligence (AI) ethics and in future governance—at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He began producing for NBC News as an intern in college and is currently an associate White House producer for NBC News in Washington, D.C. In his position, he has a firsthand perspective on the role that AI is playing in journalism today.

“I think the effects right now are pretty wide-ranging and pose some great opportunities and challenges,” Fobes says. “For example, we’ve been using artificial intelligence tools at NBC News to make transcription more efficient and effective. We also use them to help verify the provenance of social media content. As for challenges, I think anybody using social media has seen a flood in content created with generative AI. That presents significant obstacles to journalists’ ability to quickly determine the veracity��of content.”

Building upon his Marshall experience, Fobes hopes to return to NBC News ready to lead an innovation office embedded in the network’s newsgathering operation. “My goal is to develop ethical workflows that enhance our ability to gather and present news, focusing specifically on expanding efforts to combat digital misinformation,” he says.

As an undergraduate, Fobes majored in broadcast and digital journalism in the Newhouse School and minored in political science in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and the College of Arts and Sciences. He was a Syracuse University Scholar and Commencement class speaker in 2022, and says he continues to carry his Syracuse University experience with him.

“My coursework and the faculty at Newhouse and Maxwell deepened my technical knowledge of broadcasting, sharpened my storytelling skills, and broadened my understanding of domestic and international politics,” he says.��“While a lot��of the learning behind my broadcast degree allowed me to hone my use of a camera, what was truly enriching was learning from Professor Les Rose about the subtleties��of interviewing and story development. It is not just about what catches someone’s eye, but is also about finding ways of introducing your audience to new people, places and perspectives.”

Fobes says his academic experience prepared him for working at NBC News. “It gives me a great foundation for approaching my Marshall Scholarship proposal for developing ethical newsgathering workflows with AI,” he says.

“I am especially grateful to Syracuse for its focus on preparing students with professional development and networking opportunities, and for its satellite campuses in New York City and Washington, D.C,” he says. “Specifically, I’m thankful for Professor Cheryl Brody Franklin’s mentorship through the Newhouse NYC program and Professor Charlotte Grimes, who led the Robin Toner Program in Political Reporting, which I was a part of for four years. They opened the door that allowed me to intern at NBC News throughout my time at SU.”

Fobes��also worked for the Daily Orange. He led the newspaper’s audio department, expanding its footprint as the founder, editor and host of “The Daily Orange” podcast.��“I am grateful to the Daily Orange for giving me the creative space and resources to launch our weekly podcast. Leading the podcast taught me how to pitch and integrate new technologies into the operations of a storied newspaper,” he says.

Fobes worked with the University’s Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising (CFSA) on his Marshall application.

“Ghael’s extraordinary record of service and leadership in his field—and his preparation for and commitment to graduate study in artificial intelligence ethics—made him an outstanding candidate for the Marshall Scholarship,” says Jolynn Parker, director of the CFSA.��“We are thrilled this award will help him achieve his goals.”

Fobes is grateful to Parker and CFSA. “I would not have known about, pursued or completed the application, much less gotten the award, without Jolynn’s encouragement and guidance,” he says. “I am also grateful for the professors who took the time to conduct mock interviews with me.”

Students interested in applying for national scholarships that require University endorsement, such as the Marshall Scholarship, should complete an “intent to apply” form with Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising by the end of June 2025 and plan to work with��.

Tillman Scholar Benetta Dousuah G’25, a U.S. Army veteran and graduate student in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics (Photo by Charlie Poag)

The Tillman Foundation, established in memory of former National Football League player and U.S. Army Ranger Pat Tillman, honors his legacy by supporting veterans, active-duty service members and military spouses through scholarships, professional development and a lifelong network. Tillman left behind a promising football career to serve his country following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and in 2004 suffered a tragic incident that cost him his life. His foundation seeks to empower others to embody his values of service, scholarship and humble leadership.

Benetta Dousuah and her daughter upon Duasuah’s graduation from U.S. Army Basic Training (Photo courtesy of Benetta Dousuah)

For Dousuah, being named a Tillman Scholar is a culmination of hard work and community-focused ambition. “When I first heard about the Tillman Foundation, I was honestly shocked that there was a foundation like that with people still in the service, veterans, and military spouses who were making an impact like that,” Dousuah says. “I wanted to be a part of that organization because they were making an impact, and that’s something that I wanted to do in my community; that was one of the main reasons why I applied for the scholarship.”

The journey to becoming a Tillman Scholar is rigorous, many of those selected often speak of having to overcome imposter syndrome just to apply after seeing the accomplishments of past Tillman Scholars. Dousuah credits the supportive environment at Syracuse University for helping her succeed through the application process which is renowned for requiring personal reflection.

One of those supportive sources she found was Syracuse University’s Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising (CFSA). Jolynn Parker, director of CFSA, assisted Dousuah in ensuring that she had the best application to put forward and, at times, gave her the encouragement that Dousuah says she needed.

“She gave me ‘mom vibes’—the kind where someone believes in you so much that you feel you can’t let them down,” says Dousuah, who is a mother to a young daughter herself. “Jolynn pushed me to be my best, holding me accountable while reminding me I could achieve this.”

Additionally, Dousuah says she found help in preparing from the OVMA Executive Director Ron Novack provided Dousuah with opportunities to practice through mock interviews and prepare her to represent herself to the selection board.

Benetta Dousuah celebrating as the Hometown Hero during the recent Syracuse vs. University of Connecticut football game at the JMA Wireless Dome (Photo by Charlie Poag)

For her dedication to service, Dousuah was recently honored as the Hometown Hero at the JMA Wireless Dome during men’s football game against the University of Connecticut. She says she’s excited for what the future brings to her with this new community of support behind her, and aims to help other military-connected students at Syracuse University who are interested in the Tillman Foundation or looking to apply.

Looking ahead, Dousuah plans to use her platform as a Tillman Scholar to advocate for veterans and pursue her goals of shaping policies within the Department of Defense’s Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP). She is also preparing for an impactful return to her home country of Liberia this winter, where she will distribute donated school supplies to children in need—a project she describes as fulfilling the Tillman Foundation’s mission of making a lasting difference.

Her advice for aspiring Tillman Scholars is simple, “Be yourself and don’t get discouraged. Whether or not you’re selected, the journey of applying is worth it—and the foundation’s work is something to be a part of in any way you can,” says Dousuah.

Applications for the Tillman Scholarship will open in early December and close in February 2025. Those military-connected students at Syracuse University who are interested in applying are highly encouraged to reach out to the OVMA, CFSA and any of the University’s .

The application deadline for the 2025-26 Remembrance Scholarship cohort is Friday, Jan. 17, 2025.

The Remembrance Scholarship is one of the highest honors a Syracuse University student can receive. Those selected are chosen on the basis of leadership, creativity, thoughtful academic inquiry and community impact, including through service to the military, ROTC, first responder, student government, campus clubs or other community organizations.

The 35 rising seniors chosen are each awarded a $5,000 Remembrance Scholarship, and are charged with helping to educate the campus community about the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988.

Scholars are expected to undertake meaningful service and to promote initiatives to combat hatred and extremism.��Through education, all 270 lost in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, especially our 35 students, are remembered and honored. The motto of the Remembrance Scholars is “Look Back and Act Forward.”

Who Can Apply?

Any Syracuse University undergraduate student who is in good academic standing and will graduate in either December 2025, May 2026 or summer 2026 is eligible to apply. Students self-nominate for this scholarship. This award is not tied to financial need.

Information Sessions

Information sessions will be held on the following dates and times:

• Thursday, Dec. 5, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in Room 104, Whitman School of Management
• Tuesday, Dec. 10, from 4 to 5 p.m. on (registration required)

At each session, current Remembrance Scholars will provide an overview of their experience, from the application stage to their participation in Remembrance Week.

To request accommodations for the information sessions, contact Melissa Welshans at mlwelsha@syr.edu.

Application Deadline

The application deadline is Friday, Jan. 17, 2025.

Questions may be directed to remember@syr.edu.

Below, five students share their experiences; what they did and what they learned.

Fulbright Canada-Mitacs Globalink Research Internship

Five Syracuse University students were selected as Fulbright Canada-Mitacs Globalink Research Internship recipients this year. They were Sofia DaCruz ’25, a women’s and gender studies and citizenship and civic engagement major in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and the College of Arts and Sciences; (McGill University); Abi Greenfield ’25, a history and political philosophy major in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and College of Arts and Sciences (University of Victoria); Chloe Britton Naime ’25, a mechanical engineering and neuroscience major in the College of Engineering and Computer Science (University of British Columbia); Kerrin O’Grady ’25, a biomedical engineering and neuroscience major in the College of Engineering and Computer Science (University of Victoria); and Kanya Shah ’25, an aerospace engineering major in the College of Engineering and Computer Science (University of Quebec at Chicoutimi).

Abi Greenfield

Greenfield worked with Penny Bryden, professor of history at the University of Victoria. Greenfield was first research assistant on Bryden’s Canadian constitutional culture project; she created a dataset of political cartoons about the Canadian Constitution from five periods in Canadian history.

Abi Greenfield

She mined the databases of past editions of four major Canadian newspapers and developed a dataset of approximately 500 cartoons. “I then analyzed the cartoons from the 1980-82 period to understand what major themes appeared in relation to the Constitution reform debates during this period and what these themes and metaphors demonstrated about public thought around these topics,” Greenfield says. She produced a report for Bryden analyzing four major themes she identified, along with any regional or temporal variations. Greenfield’s research will form part of a forthcoming collaborative article on editorial cartoons and Canadian constitutional culture.

Greenfield says this work strengthened her skills in research design, dataset creation and analysis, and analysis of images as historical documents, as well as deepened her knowledge of Canadian political and legal history.

“This experience has been invaluable in informing the topic and goals of my undergraduate thesis for the Honors program and the Distinction program in History, as well as how I have gone about designing my project,” Greenfield says. “The chance to connect with established scholars in my field helped me to understand the breadth of research areas available to me and led me to change my thesis topic from what I had originally planned.��My improved knowledge of Canadian legal history will also help inform my work as a research assistant on the Global Free Speech Repository Project in the Campbell Institute in the Maxwell School, where I work with Canadian free expression decisions, among others.”

After graduation, Greenfield hopes to return to the University of Victoria to pursue a master’s degree in history under Bryden’s direction.

Kanya Shah

Kanya Shah

Shah interned at the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi (UQAC)’s Anti-Icing Materials Laboratory (LIMA-AMIL), where she worked on the “Evaluating Passive Protection Systems for Solar Panels Against Snow and Ice Accumulations” project. Under the supervision of Research Professor Derek Harvey and with LIMA-AMIL faculty support, she conducted extensive literature review to aid the team in designing a test bench to evaluate the effectiveness of superhydrophobic and icephobic coatings against snow and ice accretion on a solar panel placed in a cold climate chamber.

The freezing rain and snowstorm tests performed honed her laboratory techniques for testing and developing coating application methods to address snow and ice adhesion on solar panels in cold climates.

“This program provided invaluable international research exposure, solidifying my commitment to advancing sustainable solutions in mechanical and aerospace engineering,” Shah says. “As I look ahead, I’m excited to pursue this passion further, either through a master’s program or an industry-related career.”

Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI)

Corinne Motl ’25, a physics major in the College of Arts and Sciences, engaged in an internship at Argonne National Laboratory this summer through a Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Corrine Motl

Quantum networks are of significant interest within the commercial and scientific communities as they hold potential for complete information security, as well as connecting dispersed quantum technologies. Quantum memories are a key part of realizing these networks.

Motl worked on simulations to test parameters when designing a nanophotonic cavity to optimize the quality factor of the cavity. “What this means on a larger scale is that we aim to develop quantum memories that are able to get an input, preserve that single then reemit it. This is a critical part in creating technologies such as quantum repeater,” she says.

“This research involved my simulation work, as well as creating a data analysis software for X-ray detraction (XRD) data. I also worked on creating optical set up as well as alignment and matinee of a separate optical set up,” she says.

Motl says her work at Argonne gave her new skills and helped her develop her problem-solving abilities. “The more problems you solve the better you get at solving new ones. I learned to try to find the simplest solution,” she says.

Motl is currently helping to organize a branch of the 2025 conference, which will be held at Syracuse University in January.

Public Policy and International Affairs Junior Summer Institute (PPIA)

Four students were selected as PPIA JSI Fellows this year. They were Linda Baguma ’25, an international relations and political science major in the Maxwell School and College of Arts and Sciences (Carnegie Mellon); Victoria Knight ’25, a policy studies and economics major (pre-law track) in the Maxwell School (UC-Berkeley); Caroline Ridge ’25 a political science and policy studies major in the Maxwell School (Carnegie Mellon) and Evelina Torres ’25, a political science and citizenship and civic engagement major in the Maxwell School (Carnegie Mellon).

Linda Baguma

As part of her PPIA experience, Baguma completed rigorous coursework on quantitative methods, economic analysis and policy research, all aimed at addressing real-world public policy challenges. The program also emphasized diversity in public service and leadership development.

Linda Baguma

Baguma worked on a project analyzing the impact of social policies on low-income communities, using data to evaluate the effectiveness of various poverty reduction programs. “This experience directly complements my studies at Syracuse, especially my concentration in international security and diplomacy within the international relations major,” she says. “I plan to apply the quantitative analysis skills I gained to my coursework, particularly in areas related to policy design and evaluation, and to further explore how international policies impact African development, which is my regional focus.”

She says her experience was made even more meaningful by the opportunity to move beyond the classroom and apply what she learned to real-world challenges. Baguma contributed to an additional project focused on abandoned mine lands (AMLs) in the Pittsburgh area. “Our goal was to analyze the impact of AMLs on surrounding communities, using a variety of data sources to uncover the relationships and effects these sites have on public health, environmental justice and economic outcomes. I even learned how to run regressions to better understand the correlations between AMLs and the well-being of nearby communities,” she says.

Baguma says the PPIA experience gave her a broader understanding of public service. “I’m eager to incorporate this perspective into my academic and professional trajectory, and I look forward to continuing this work as I prepare for a career in public policy, particularly in U.S.-Africa relations,” she says.

Victoria Knight

The UC-Berkeley PPIA program offered a law track that gave Knight valuable insights into succeeding at top law schools. She took four courses: Law and Public Policy, Economics for Public Policy, Policy Analysis and Quantitative Methods for Public Policy.

Victoria Knight

Beyond the classroom, the program provided numerous opportunities to connect with notable alumni and guest speakers, including Dean David Wilson, Robert Reich (former U.S. secretary of labor) and Janet Napolitano (former secretary of Homeland Security and president of the University of California).

“These experiences not only prepared me for law school and a master’s in public policy, but also for my final year at Syracuse. I’m working on my honors thesis, which examines the economic impact of varying abortion laws. The skills I gained through PPIA are invaluable in helping me write a more substantial thesis and better analyze questions at the intersection of law, policy and economics.”

At Syracuse, Knight serves as a task force coordinator for the Skills Win! Coaching Program in the Syracuse City School District, teaching students critical skills like budgeting, typing and public speaking. “Thanks to PPIA, I now have the skills to understand better the impact of New York State education laws, enabling me to analyze the data we collect and recommend meaningful program improvements.”

“The PPIA experience was incredibly eye-opening and rewarding. I’m grateful for the connections I made with the guest speakers and other participants and for everything I learned during the program,” Knight says. “I highly encourage anyone who gets the chance to apply—it was easily one of the most memorable and impactful parts of my college experience.”

Angelina Lim ’25, a film major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA), has been named a recipient of a 2024 Beinecke Scholarship. Lim is the fourth Beinecke Scholar in Syracuse University’s history.

The award provides graduate funding and mentorship for juniors in the arts, humanities or social sciences. The Beinecke Scholarship seeks to encourage and enable highly motivated students of exceptional promise to pursue graduate study in these fields. The Beinecke Scholarship works with approximately 135 participating institutions. Each school may nominate one candidate per year; the campus nomination process is highly competitive. This year, the Beinecke Scholarship Program selected 19 scholars.

Below, Lim talks about her studies as an aspiring cinematographer and her future plans.

Thakur is one of in the United States to receive the award, which the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation calls the largest and most prestigious award for Ph.D. candidates in the humanities and social sciences addressing questions of ethical and religious values.

Funded by the Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation, the fellowship was created in 1981 and has supported nearly 1,300 doctoral candidates. Newcombe Fellows have gone on to be noted faculty at domestic and foreign institutions, leaders in their fields of study, Pulitzer Prize winners and more.

Thakur’s dissertation, “River song: Riverine ethics and autonomy on the Brahmaputra floodplains,” focuses on the ethical actions shaping the lives of people inhabiting the floodplains of the Brahmaputra River in Assam, India, as they build a future amidst socio-economic, political and environmental precarity.

When Thakur began preliminary research in 2017, she followed the flows of the Brahmaputra River and its many tributaries in upper and central Assam. “This helped me understand how a mobile approach to land and life allows local communities across the Brahmaputra floodplains to deal with the uncertainties posed by climate change and infrastructures upstream,” Thakur says. “I specifically focus on how place-based ethics and ancestral values centering an autonomous mode of life emerge in narratives about a future for riverine communities living in small river islands on the Brahmaputra River’s northern bank.”

From 2021-22, Thakur explored riverine communities’ relationships with the Brahmaputra River and its tributaries through songs, stories and participation in everyday life while living in the river island region. She also interviewed activists and community leaders to understand their perspectives around development infrastructures that adversely impact community access to land and resources. She also conducted research at several archives in India.

“Nimisha’s research is fascinating, timely and important, and I enjoyed working with her to hone her application materials,” says Daniel Olson-Bang, director of professional and career development in the Graduate School. “I’m so pleased that such a deserving researcher will have this opportunity.”

Thakur’s research was supported by the American Institute of Indian Studies Junior Dissertation Fellowship from 2021-22. She also received support from the Department of Anthropology and the Moynihan South Asia Center in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and the Education Model Program on Water-Energy Research, a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Traineeship Program at Syracuse University.

Julia Fancher, a rising junior majoring in physics and mathematics in the and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program, has been named a 2024-25 Astronaut Scholar by the .

Founded by the Mercury 7 astronauts, the foundation awards scholarships to students in their junior or senior year who are pursuing a science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) degree with intentions to pursue research or advance their field upon completion of their degrees. Astronaut Scholars are among the best and brightest minds in STEM who show initiative, creativity and excellence in their chosen field.

The Astronaut Scholarship includes funding of up to $15,000 toward educational expenses, a paid trip to the ASF Innovators Week and Gala in Houston in August, where Fancher will receive the award, and lifelong mentoring and engagement opportunities with astronauts, Astronaut Scholar alumni, industry leaders and the ASF.

Fancher worked with the University’s on her application. “Julia’s commitment to research in astrophysics since her first semester on campus at SU, combined with her extraordinary publication and presentation record, make her a superb fit for the Astronaut Scholarship,” says CFSA Director Jolynn Parker. “We’re thrilled that she’ll benefit from the program’s tuition support and excellent mentorship and professional development opportunities.”

“For 40 years, ASF has been at the forefront of nurturing the next generation of STEM leaders and fueling their passion for exploration and innovation,” says Caroline Schumacher, ASF president and CEO. “Each year, it’s thrilling to see the exceptional talent and dedication each new scholar brings to the ASF community. We welcome the 2024 class and look forward to supporting them in their quest to make their unique mark on our society.”

Fancher, who is also minoring in computer science in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, was recently named a 2024 Goldwater Scholar. When she was in middle school, her aunt gifted her Nathalia Holt’s 2016 book “Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars.”

“I was captivated by the stories of these women, and they inspired me to pursue STEM research,” Fancher says. She now plans a career researching theoretical high-energy astrophysics.

As a first-year student at Syracuse, she joined the high-energy astrophysics lab of Eric Coughlin, assistant professor of physics. Under Coughlin’s guidance, Fancher researches tidal disruption events (TDEs), astrophysical transients that occur when a star is destroyed by the tidal field of a black hole. She uses a combination of numerical simulations and analytical methods to accurately model TDEs, which reveal properties of distant galaxies. “I want to continue contributing to our understanding of the sources of astrophysical transients and expand our knowledge of the universe,” she says.

Fancher’s research has overturned previously held convictions about the physical effects of shocks during the disruption of a star in a TDE and established the importance of self-gravity for understanding how stellar debris behaves once a star has been destroyed. She published this research as first author in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society in December 2023. She is now testing a new model developed by Coughlin and Chris Nixon, associate professor of theoretical astrophysics at the University of Leeds, and she is creating a library of PHANTOM stars with realistic structures that will be publicly available for future TDE research.

With support from Syracuse’s undergraduate research office (SOURCE) and a Young Research Fellowship, Fancher presented her work at the 243rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society and was a finalist in the Chambliss poster competition. She has presented posters at SOURCE research fairs and at the Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics at West Point. She is second author on a paper published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters in January 2024. Her publications and presentations have implications for how observational data from TDEs is interpreted and could lead to new insights into distant black holes and stellar populations in galactic centers.

Fancher supports local Syracuse high school students through the Syracuse University Research in Physics (SURPh) program during the summer and mentors students through the Society of Physics Students. She also volunteers for Friends of Inkululeko, through which she works with learners in South Africa. “I want to ensure that students from a variety of backgrounds have the opportunity to explore their interests and are encouraged to pursue careers in STEM just as I was,” she says. Outside of the classroom and lab, she plays alto saxophone in the Syracuse Marching Band and completed a half marathon last fall.

Fancher plans to enroll in a doctoral program that focuses on computational and analytical astrophysics, with the goal of joining a research university or national laboratory to conduct research in theoretical high-energy astrophysics.

“I aim to build my own astrophysics lab focusing on discovering possible mechanisms of observed astrophysical transients through a combination of analytical methods and computational modeling,” Fancher says. ‘The mentoring that the ASF provides will be invaluable as I work towards a career in research, and I am excited to meet the other scholars in my cohort as well. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to join this community.”

Created in 1984, ASF awarded its first seven scholarships in honor of the Mercury 7 astronauts—Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Walter Schirra, Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton. Seven students received $1,000 scholarships. To fundraise and support future scholarships, the founders ̶ which included the six surviving Mercury 7 astronauts, Betty Grissom (Gus’s widow), Dr. William Douglas (the Project Mercury flight surgeon) and Henri Landwirth (an Orlando businessman and friend) ̶ began donating proceeds from their speaking engagements. The incredible efforts of these legends have shaped ASF’s mission to support and reward exceptional college students pursuing degrees in STEM. Forty years later, more than $9 million has been awarded to more than 800 college students.

As a university partner of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, Syracuse University can nominate two students for the Astronaut Scholarship each year. Interested students should contact CFSA for information on the nomination process (cfsa@syr.edu; 315.443.2759). More information on the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation can be .

Two Syracuse University students have been named as student cultural ambassadors through the U.S.-UK Fulbright Commission’s UK Summer Institute program.

They are Keona Bukhari-Adams ’27, a psychology and neuroscience major in the College of Arts and Sciences, and Adalys Sanchez ’26, an earth sciences major and women and gender studies minor in the College of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program.

The Fulbright UK Summer Institutes are fully funded three- to four-week summer study programs for first- and second-year U.S. undergraduates. The Summer Institutes are made possible through generous donations from private individuals and through partnerships with some of the top universities in the UK. Participants are selected based on leadership skills, academic achievement, character, adaptability and ambassadorial qualities, as well as demonstrated interest in the UK and its culture.

Selection is highly competitive; only 36 students from the U.S. were chosen as recipients this year. The first two Syracuse students to receive Fulbright UK Summer Institute awards studied in the UK in 2016 and 2017. Four students received the award in 2018.

“The Fulbright UK Summer Institutes program is one of the most competitive programs to which Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising (CFSA) helps first- and second-year students apply,” says Melissa Welshans, assistant director of CFSA. “Adalys and Keona were selected because they embody the academic excellence and ambassadorial spirit that this program seeks to cultivate among emerging leaders. We are so proud of them and know they will be excellent representatives of Syracuse and the U.S. during their time in the UK.”

Bukhari-Adams will study at the Glasgow School of Art and the University of Strathclyde in Scotland, in a focused on technology, innovation and creativity.�� Sanchez will study at the University of Exeter in England in a focused on global sustainability and climate change issues.

During the summer institute, Bukhari-Adams hopes to explore the intersection between medicine and technology. “I want to learn how these two industries have collectively revolutionized global medicine,” she says. Bukhari plans to attend medical school and embark on a career as a neurosurgeon or pediatric oncologist. “I hope that this experience will serve as a stepping stone in achieving the extraordinary and pushing the boundaries for greatness in the world of medicine,” she says.

Bukhari-Adams is also excited to make her first international trip and to learn more about a different culture. She developed an interest in anthropology after taking a class with Professor Azra Hromadžić in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. “I am very excited to explore Scotland from an anthropological perspective,” she says.

Sanchez is passionate about the intersection of environmental justice and marginalized communities. “Through my academic journey, I want to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to advocate for environmental justice as a lawyer,” she says. “I hope attending this program in Exeter helps me learn how to do this from a diverse perspective.”

She plans to explore the UK’s climate change research and sustainability practices and to integrate these insights into initiatives back in the U.S. “I am also looking forward to sharing my past research experiences with coastal communities and water quality with experts in Exeter who do similar work,” Sanchez says. “I think that participating in this program will help me become a better advocate for a healthier planet, an advocate who is aware of the major impact of climate change and practices sustainability in a way that creates social equity.”

This will also be Sanchez’s first time traveling internationally. “I’m excited for the experience as a whole—the opportunity to see all the historical sights of Exeter, being in Central London for the first week of the program and just getting to explore and meet new people.”

�ճ������funds a range of awards that include English teaching assistantships (ETA) and study/research grants in over 140 countries.

The 2024 recipients are:

• Caroline Barraco G’24, a history master’s degree student in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, English teaching assistantship (ETA), Spain
• Olivia Budelmann ’23 (mathematics; environment, sustainability and policy; and Spanish language, literature and culture in the College of Arts and Sciences), ETA, Andorra
• Jaemon Crosby ’24, an acting major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA), study award, United Kingdom—London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA, classical acting)
• Avital Datskovsky, a Ph.D. student in anthropology in the Maxwell School, research award, India
• Jessica Hogbin, a Ph.D. student in history in the Maxwell School, research award, Italy
• Lindsey Kernen ’23 (psychology in A&S and citizenship and civic engagement in the Maxwell School), study award, United Kingdom—University of Strathclyde
• Yasmin Nayrouz ’24, an English and textual studies major in A&S, a public relations major in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program, study award, United Kingdom—University of Sussex
• Anthony Ornelaz G’24, a creative writing M.F.A. student in A&S,��ETA, Poland
• Alec Rovensky ’21 (School of Architecture), study award, Germany—Technische Universität Berlin
• Adriana Rozas Rivera G’21 (magazine, news and digital journalism, Newhouse School), ETA, Spain
• Zelikha Shoja G’24, an art video student in VPA, research award, Tajikistan
• Julianne Strauss ’23 (inclusive elementary and special education, School of Education) G’24 (literacy education), ETA, Spain
• Elizabeth Vanek G’24, a clinical mental health counseling student in the School of Education, ETA, Mexico
• Ciara Young ’24, an international relations and anthropology major in the Maxwell School | A&S and linguistics major in A&S and member of the Renée Crown Honors Program, ETA, Korea

The 2024 alternates are:

• Huleymatu Barrie ’22 (international relations in the Maxwell School | A&S, ETA, Ghana
• Ian Ferguson, a Ph.D. student in history in the Maxwell School, research award, Kenya
• Liam Goff, a senior broadcast and digital journalism major in the Newhouse School, ETA, Germany
• Mary Matthews, a senior international relations major in the Maxwell School | A&S, ETA, Estonia
• Laura Roman Lopez G’24, a master’s degree student in magazine, news and digital journalism in the Newhouse School, ETA, Argentina

Jaemon Crosby

Crosby, while studying at LAMDA, hopes to bring a new perspective and diversify the world of classical acting, as classical texts and acting historically have been written for and performed by white men.

Jaemon Crosby

“Some of these texts, for example Shakespeare, convey a bigger message and an experience that is not unique to just one race or gender, but to everyone,” Crosby says. “There has been a big revamp in the use of classical texts and bringing them to modern eyes, and I want to be a part of that. … I have always been very drawn to language, rhetoric and the power of listening. I hope this training will help me bring that into works that are performed today and give me a new perspective and interpretation of texts to bring into auditions as I begin my acting career.”

Crosby hopes he can be a role model for younger Black kids in that they may see themselves in classical texts. “Representation is very important in television, theatre and film,” he says. “I want to act and play roles that go against stereotypes of what a Black man is and show what we can be and the power in our Blackness.”

He also hopes that in the future, the connections he makes during his time in the U.K. will aid him in producing shows both in the United States and the U.K. “In my time during my previous semester abroad in London (through Syracuse Abroad), I saw so many beautiful, specific and bold plays that are telling important stories that all should see,” Crosby says. “Theatre should tell stories that allow people to see themselves in them and relate, tell untold stories, educate and make people feel less alone. Everyone should have access to that. There are amazing shows I think should be brought to the U.S., and their messages shared with everyone. I want to be a part of that, and this training and the connections I make will help me get there.”

Jessica Hogbin

Jessica Hogbin

During her Fulbright year in Italy, Hogbin will conduct research for her dissertation, which studies how melancholy—a now-defunct medical category from humoral theory—was used and abused by Renaissance scholars and physicians to express and explain mental health and the mind. Her project, “Innumerable Melancholies: Medicine, Mental Health and Human Nature in Renaissance Italy, 1450-1650,” engages with the deeply interconnected relationship between medicine, narratives around mental health and politics in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Hogbin will conduct research in several archives and libraries in the Veneto region of Italy, including the Historic Archive of the University of Padua, the Marciana Library, and the State Archives of Padua and Venice.

“Through this study, I aim to explore the increasing presumption that it was a patient’s responsibility to care for their own mind and body, along with stereotypes that claimed certain people were more likely by birth and social status to be victims of melancholy, concepts that continue to affect how mental health is imagined to this day,” she says. “I am greatly looking forward to spending this Fulbright year building my dissertation project, conversing with Italian scholars and eating plenty of gelato.”

Hogbin plans to transform her dissertation into a book project in the future. “I hope to take everything that I learn during my Fulbright year, both academically and culturally, back into the classroom, where I am looking forward to sharing this information with my students and allowing the content that I find to shape my lessons.”

Lindsay Kernen

During her Fulbright year, Kernen will pursue a master’s degree in work and organizational psychology at the University of Strathclyde Business School in Glasgow, Scotland.

Lindsay Kernen

Her research will focus on interpersonal relationships in organizations and how diverse groups have the power to produce creative, innovative and profitable outcomes as opposed to conventional top-down management styles.

“I hope to bridge theory and practice, promoting the importance of community involvement in psychological research. I’m looking forward to partnering with an organization in Glasgow to improve employee well-being and satisfaction,” she says. “I’m so excited to have a year dedicated to community-based learning and I hope this leaves me exposed to many diverse perspectives in the psychology field and beyond.”

Beyond her Fulbright year, Kernen plans to embark upon a career dedicated to connecting psychological research that informs employee wellbeing with organizational practices and to raise awareness of the benefits of inclusive group dialogue for innovative workplaces. “This experience will allow me to dig deep into these topics while providing many opportunities to collaborate with local organizations to implement these strategies while learning from the local community and diverse cultures,” she says.

In addition to her studies, Kernen plans to attend meetings for worship at the local Quaker meetinghouse and enjoy Glasgow’s vibrant music and arts scene.

Julianne Strauss

Julianne Strauss

During her Fulbright year, Strauss will be an English teaching assistant in the La Rioja region of Spain. “I hope to find ways to promote inclusive education within the classrooms I teach in and in the school community,” says Strauss. “I also want to instill a love of reading in my students and use inclusive children’s literature that I read in my own U.S. classrooms to promote English learning.”

Strauss, who studied in Madrid during her junior year through Syracuse Abroad, hopes to grow as a Spanish speaker and immerse herself in Spanish culture. “I have not had the chance to visit this region previously, so I want to explore all of my new home,” she says.

She plans to use this Fulbright year as a chance to expand her teaching experiences to students who are learning English as a second language. “I want to bring this experience home and draw upon it to support my future students in the Central New York or New York City region,” she says.

Students interested in applying to the Fulbright program should contact the Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising at 315.443.2759 or cfsa@syr.edu. The campus deadline for the 2024-25 application cycle is Sept. 10.

Three Syracuse University students have been awarded prestigious graduate research fellowships through the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), and two students have been recognized with honorable mentions.

The fellowship recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in the U.S. The five-year fellowship includes three years of financial support, including an annual stipend of $37,000 and a $16,000 educational allowance.

The 2024 recipients of the NSF GRFP are the following:

• Edward (Cole) Fluker, a senior chemical engineering major in the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS). Fluker will be joining the Ph.D. program in chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of Pennsylvania upon graduation.
• Dan Paradiso, a second-year Ph.D. student in physics in the College of Arts and Sciences.
• Melissa Yeung, a first-year Ph.D. student in mechanical and aerospace engineering in ECS.

��Edward (Cole) Fluker

Fluker, who was recently named a University Scholar, initially got involved in research in his sophomore year and took on his first significant research project the following summer. Through the University’s Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, he worked under Ian Hosein, associate professor of biomedical and chemical engineering, analyzing a gel polymer electrolyte system as an alternative to liquid electrolytes in calcium-ion batteries. The research resulted in a paper, on which Fluker was first author, in the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Physical Chemistry.

That experience led him to pursue more research opportunities in energy storage. In summer 2023, he completed the Internet of Things for Precision Agriculture REU at the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied the power and energy performance of aluminum air batteries (AABs) with Ag-based cathodes.

“By the end of the project, I had successfully fabricated cathodes that resulted in power performance of 70% of the commercial option at less than 1/4,000th of the cost,” Fluker says. “I was especially interested in creative efforts to improve efficient agricultural practices, and I hope to continue contributing to them while at UPenn.”

Fluker says the NSF GRFP will give him financial resources to help broaden his research to be more sustainable and inclusive. “There is a severe underrepresentation of Black students pursuing advanced degrees, and I believe this program will help me launch a pipeline program for African American students to support their advanced degree aspirations,” he says. “On top of my research goals committed to next generation energy storage, I want to pave a path for underrepresented students that opens doors they never thought were meant for them.”

Dan Paradiso

Paradiso’s research is focused on the deaths of massive stars in the universe, known as core-collapse supernovae. These stars, which have masses of around 10 to 100 times the mass of the sun, end their life in a cataclysmic and explosive death that produces light that can be detected with ground and space-based telescopes. Decades of research, however, suggests that not all stars that undergo core-collapse result in a successful explosion and instead the star can continue to implode until a black hole is formed. These events are referred to as failed supernovae, and it is estimated that approximately 20-30% of stars that undergo core-collapse result in a failed supernova.

“In my research I focus on the dynamics of shockwaves, which are ubiquitous with core-collapse supernova physics, using analytical and numerical methods to understand these failed supernova explosions,” Paradiso says. “I then use these techniques to make predictions about observable properties of failed and sub-energetic explosions.”

“As a second-year graduate student, the generous support from the GRFP is very welcome, and I am excited to continue my research with this support,” he says.

��Melissa Yeung

Yeung works in the fluid dynamics lab of Yiyang Sun, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, where she focuses on supersonic jet engines.

High noise levels have always been associated with supersonic aircraft, restricting their flight range to over sea. “The goal of my work is to alleviate the undesired features through strategically placed small micro-jets of air. I am currently focused on optimizing these micro-jets such that they can continuously modulate themselves to adapt to various flight conditions. By doing so, the flow can be controlled even in off-design conditions and with minimal energy input,” Yeung says. “Understanding these complex flow physics is vital for the development of next-generation high-performance aircraft. Successfully controlling this flow can improve upon the aircraft’s performance and ensure the safety of nearby workers or civilians. This work is one of many steps in pushing supersonic flight for commercial use.”

Yeung says the GRFP fellowship will allow her more flexibility in her research direction, fund her research activities and allow her to attend more conferences.

Yeung also notes the tremendous amount of support she received from Sun, Professor Emeritus Mark Glauser and Gina Lee-Glauser, retired vice president for research, throughout the application process. “Their guidance has been crucial to my success and without them I would have not have the honor of being an NSF GRFP recipient, she says.

Nicholas Rubino and Elizabeth Su

Two students also received honorable mentions in this year’s NSF GRFP competition. Nicholas Rubino, a second-year Ph.D. student in mechanical and aerospace engineering in ECS who is researching robotic devices for physical rehabilitation, and Elizabeth Su, a senior graduating with a bachelor’s degree in bioengineering and neuroscience from the College of Arts and Sciences. Su will pursue a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering at Purdue University, researching enhanced visual prosthetics.

The CFSA will hold an the week of June 10-14. The bootcamp is for rising seniors and first- and second-year graduate students who are eligible for and plan to apply for the NSF GRFP this fall.

Students interested in learning more about or applying for the next NSF GRFP award cycle or any other nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships should visit the����or email��cfsa@syr.edu��for more information.

“Based on feedback from students and faculty, the new award and changes to existing awards will make SOURCE funding more flexible for an even broader population of students,” says Kate Hanson, director of the SOURCE.

The new SOURCE Bridge Award will provide short-term, renewable support up to $2,000 for students at all levels to pursue mentored research experiences. The Bridge Award application cycle will occur three times each year: in July for fall semester funding, in October for spring semester funding and in April for summer funding. To apply, students should identify a faculty mentor and create a research plan for the following semester.

The flexible Bridge Award can support students in any phase of research, from those just getting started with a project or in a lab, to students working on a capstone or thesis, or students traveling to present at a conference, and more.

The SOURCE Fellowship application cycle will be held only in the spring, for $3,200-$7,700 (amount will depend on timeline) to fund summer and/or full academic year research. The fellowship’s guidelines now emphasize advanced student-led or student-designed original research and creative work that will substantially develop skills and culminate in a deliverable appropriate to the discipline.

In partnership with the Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising (CFSA), the CFSA-SOURCE Emerging Research Fellows Program (formerly the Young Research Fellows Program) encourages first-year students with a strong interest in research to apply for this two-year program that provides in-depth, guided research development, now including participation in a one-credit course on the research process.

Also new this year are awards to celebrate the wider undergraduate research community at the University. The SOURCE Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research Mentoring and the SOURCE Award for Innovation in Undergraduate Research Support recognize both a faculty mentor and campus partner office or initiative that have made significant contributions to undergraduate research activity. The CFSA-SOURCE Graduation Recognition, beginning in spring 2025, will provide a cord for students who have participated in undergraduate research and/or national fellowships applications and programs.

Continuing programs include the Faculty Research Assistant Grant, the Explore Program, the Patricia A. Wood, M.D., Ph.D., Spinoza Award, SOURCE Symposia (three times annually) and the ACC Meeting of the Minds Program.

Undergraduate students in all majors are eligible for SOURCE programs.

More information about eligibility, application and other details of the programs can be found at the . Contact SOURCE at ugresearch@syr.edu.

Five Syracuse University students have been selected as recipients of the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS), through which they will immerse themselves in intensive language study this summer.

The recipients and the languages they will study are:

• Christian Bevilacqua ’24, a social studies education and geography major in the , and , studying Urdu;
• Kathryn Bratt-Pfotenhauer G’24 a creative writing master’s of fine arts (M.F.A.) student (poetry) in the College of Arts and Sciences, studying Russian;
• Anthony Ornelaz G’24, a creative writing M.F.A. student in the College of Arts and Sciences, studying Turkish;
• Chelsea Sato, a Ph.D. candidate in mathematics in the College of Arts and Sciences, studying Korean; and
• Ciara Young ’24, an international relations and anthropology major in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) and linguistics major in A&S, studying Korean.

The CLS program is an intensive overseas language and cultural immersion program for American graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities. Traditionally, some 550 students spend eight to 10 weeks abroad studying one of 14 languages—Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Swahili, Turkish or Urdu. The program is fully funded and includes intensive language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences designed to promote rapid language gains.

CLS, a program of the U.S. Department of State, is part of a wider government initiative to expand the number of Americans studying and mastering foreign languages that are critical to national security and economic prosperity.

Christian Bevilacqua

Bevilacqua will study Urdu in Lucknow, India. This is his second time participating��in the CLS program; he studied Hindi in Jaipur, India, in 2022.

“Participating in the CLS Urdu program is an exciting opportunity for me to further my language skills and expand my cultural understanding of South Asia,” he says.

Bevilacqua will be an incoming first-year master’s student in geography in the Maxwell School in the fall, and he looks forward to learning Urdu to better prepare himself for future research projects.

“I am interested in studying the experiences of South Asian migrant workers in urban cities of the Arabian Peninsula,” says Bevilacqua. “Learning Urdu as a lingua franca will enable me to connect with their stories, experiences, feelings and expressions of art and memory, which is crucial for understanding how transnational migrant workers construct and navigate a sense of home and community.”

Kathryn Bratt-Pfotenhauer

As a child of former Foreign Service officers, being named a recipient of a CLS in Russian is incredibly meaningful to Bratt-Pfotenhauer.

“The importance of language as a means of communication and cooperation has been impressed upon me since birth,” she says. “I am proud to continue in my parents’ footsteps helping to foster connection between nations.”

Through her CLS experience, Bratt-Pfotenhauer hopes to gain a more complete view of Central Asia through her studies in Kyrgyzstan and a better understanding of how the Russian language operates in a country that was once part of the Soviet Union.

“After completing the CLS program, I hope to continue my studies of language and literatures through pursuing a doctorate in comparative literature,” she says.

Anthony Ornelaz

Ornelaz, a U.S. Air Force veteran and , served in the Middle East nearly a decade ago. “I feel I still have the ability to serve through the Foreign Service, which starts, for me, from the language up,” he says. “I would love to translate Turkish poetry into English while studying the Turkish poetic style.”

He is looking forward to his CLS experience in Ankara, Turkey. “This is a wonderful opportunity to build meaningful relationships while experiencing Turkish culture, food and understanding of the world,” he says. “I hope whatever I experience will be distinctly and organically Turkish from beginning to end.”

Ciara Young

During her time at Syracuse, Young has maintained a deep commitment to the study of Korean language and affairs, particularly in the context of contemporary political developments and social movements. “In this way, being awarded CLS is the perfect culmination to my four years at SU, and the perfect beginning to my professional pursuits,” she says. “I am eager to meet my cohort and continue to immerse myself in Korean language and culture alongside them. I am especially looking forward to the time I will spend with my language partner around Gwangju.”

Following her CLS experience, Young will apply the linguistic and cultural insights she gains, as well as the intercultural communication, critical thinking, and teamwork skills she develops, to enhance her research pursuits and language studies in graduate school, focusing on foreign policy, security studies and��issues that impact U.S.-Korean relations.

“As I work towards my professional goal of becoming a Foreign Service officer with the U.S. State Department, the cross-cultural competence and Korean language skills I will develop during my time in Gwangju, a city renowned as the birthplace of Korean democracy and the May 18^th��Democratic Uprising, will be truly invaluable,” she says.

Five Syracuse University students have been selected for the 2024 Goldwater Scholarship, the preeminent undergraduate scholarship awarded in the natural sciences, engineering and mathematics in the U.S. This is the first time Syracuse has had five students selected for the cohort and the third consecutive year the University has had at least three scholars selected in one year.

The recipients are:

• Julia Fancher, a sophomore physics and mathematics major in the (A&S) and a member of the ;
• Sadie Meyer, a sophomore biomedical engineering major in the (ECS) and mathematics major in A&S;
• Kerrin O’Grady, a junior biomedical engineering major in ECS and neuroscience integrated learning major in A&S;
• Serena Peters, a junior chemistry major in A&S; and
• Gianna Voce, a sophomore computer science major in ECS and neuroscience Integrated learning major in A&S.

“The fact that five students from Syracuse were selected as Goldwater Scholars this year is a testament to our University’s robust support for undergraduate research and the high quality of faculty mentoring here.” Jolynn Parker, director, Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising

All five are research grant recipients from the .

�ճ������was established by Congress in 1986 to honor U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater, the five-term senator from Arizona. The purpose of the program is to provide a continuing source of highly qualified scientists, mathematicians and engineers by awarding scholarships to students who intend to pursue research careers in these fields.

The Goldwater Foundation received 1,353 nominations this year from around the country and 438 students were selected for the scholarship.

Each Syracuse University Goldwater Scholarship nominee worked with the (CFSA) to prepare their application. A faculty committee, headed by James Spencer, professor of chemistry in A&S, selected Syracuse’s nominees for the national competition.

“We’re so proud of Julia, Sadie, Kerrin, Serena and Gianna. They are exceptional young scientists and it is gratifying to see them honored with this award,” says Jolynn Parker, CFSA director. “The fact that five students from Syracuse were selected as Goldwater Scholars this year is a testament to our University’s robust support for undergraduate research and the high quality of faculty mentoring here.”

Julia Fancher

Fancher, a physics major, is also minoring in computer science and draws on those skills to create effective theoretical models of astrophysical phenomena.

“I have always loved space, and I now get to use physics and math to learn more about distant galaxies and black holes,” she says.

As a first-year student, Fancher joined the high-energy astrophysics lab of Eric Coughlin, assistant professor of physics. With Coughlin’s guidance, Fancher researches tidal disruption events, which occur when a star is destroyed by the tidal field of a black hole.

Fancher has published two papers in national journals on this topic and presented her research at the local Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics and the national American Astronomical Society conference in January 2024, and was a finalist in the undergraduate AAS Chambliss poster competition. She participated in the “Education and Inclusion in Post-Apartheid South Africa” program through Syracuse Abroad last summer.

Fancher plans to enroll in a doctoral program that focuses on computational and analytical astrophysics, with the goal of becoming a professor at a research university to conduct research in theoretical high-energy astrophysics.

“I aim to build my own astrophysics lab focusing on discovering possible mechanisms of observed astrophysical transients through a combination of analytical methods and computational modeling,” Fancher says.

Sadie Meyer

Meyer grew up surrounded by research with widespread impacts on healthcare and recognized the importance of such work early on. She developed a strong purpose to advance new approaches to women’s health and infertility, specifically with a biomedical engineering perspective.

In her first semester on campus, wanting to get more involved with research, Meyer joined the laboratory of James Henderson, professor of biomedical and chemical engineering and director of the . The lab specializes in functional shape-memory materials and biocompatible platform development.

Meyer has learned material synthesis and combined mathematical approaches with experimental design to conduct characterizations of programmed shape memory polymer topography to serve as a dynamic cell culture substrate. Her current project analyzes bacterial response to shape-memory actuated 3D silk wrinkled surfaces as a strategy for biofilm prevention. Meyer is third author on a manuscript published in February 2024 in the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute journal, “Polymers.”��She will present her research at the 50th Northeast Bioengineering Conference on April 4 at the Stevens Institute of Technology. This summer, she will participate in a National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) at Northwestern University’s Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental Resource Facility. There, she will study the ultrastructure of yeast mitochondria, working toward a better understanding of cellular function, health and evolution.

Meyer plans to enroll in a Ph.D. program with strengths in regenerative medicine, biomaterials and mechanobiology. “After earning my Ph.D., I will pursue a faculty position where I can oversee a lab of my own and conduct research to address challenges in fertility and reproductive health,” she says.

“Being selected for the Goldwater Scholarship encourages and supports my ambitions for further inquiry in my fields and makes a tremendous difference to my development as a researcher,” she says.

Kerrin O’Grady

In high school, O’Grady volunteered at a camp for neurodivergent children and adults. “I have seen the need for adaptive and customizable everyday devices for individuals with impaired motor control,” she says.

She is now pursuing degrees in biomedical engineering and neuroscience, with a minor in philosophy. “As a bioengineer, I am eager to support communities that may not have the same opportunities I have been afforded,” she says.

O’Grady has engaged in research in the Henderson Lab since the beginning of her sophomore year. There, she has focused on creating silk-wrinkled topographies on 3D shape-memory polymeric scaffolds and optimizing the attachment and proliferation of mammalian, specifically neuronal, cells on the scaffolds. Her current work focuses on using silk-wrinkled shape-memory polymeric conduits to aid in peripheral nerve injury repair.

O’Grady plans to enroll in a Ph.D. program in biomedical engineering, focusing on neuro-engineering. After completing her Ph.D., she aims to pursue a career focused on neural engineering research, working closely with the neurodivergent and physically disabled communities.

“I want to lead experiments and to create devices and repair in vivo damage, similar to the work that Argonne National Laboratory is conducting on repairing spinal cord damage by injecting a treatment directly into paralyzed mice,” she says. O’Grady will continue this work at the University of Victoria this summer through a Fulbright MITACS research internship. There, she will work in a lab on 3D bioprinting neural tissues from stem cells.

“The Goldwater Scholarship will help me in a financial sense and will provide me with a community of dedicated students who have similar passions and goals as me,” she says.

Serena Peters

Peters is pursuing a major in chemistry because of her interest in applications for environmental sustainability. She has contributed to a research project with Professor Jonathan French quantifying students’ sense of belonging in general chemistry courses. Currently, in Professor Timothy Korter’s lab, she is using high-complexity experimental and computational techniques to study the polymorphism of two antiviral compounds, acyclovir and ganciclovir.

Peters purposefully chooses assignments that allow her to delve deeper into the realm of sustainable chemistry. “Whether presenting on how zeolites can be employed for nuclear waste cleanup or writing a paper on innovative carbon capture strategies, I consistently integrate environmental chemistry into my academic pursuits,” she says.

Peters plans to pursue a Ph.D. in chemistry with a concentration on applications for environmental sustainability. Her career goal is to work in aquatic cleanup as a research professor at a university.

“I aspire to guide undergraduates who, much like myself, may harbor uncertainties about venturing into the field of research. I hope to continue researching in the field of environmental chemistry, specifically using different forms of spectroscopy to analyze water contaminants. My goal is to foster a research environment that demonstrates that research is an inclusive pursuit open to anyone, regardless of their background or identity,” she says.

“The Goldwater Scholarship has helped me build my confidence. I long wondered if research was for me, partially since it’s such a male-dominated field. However, receiving this scholarship has shown me that I am capable and I deserve to be a researcher as much as anyone else,” Peters says.

Gianna Voce

Voce has always loved the problem-solving of computer science and its endless possibilities to intersect with other fields. “Computer science was originally inspired by the human brain and continues to be influenced by neuroscience, so seeing the parallels between my two majors is fascinating to me,” she says. “I love seeing the ways two seemingly disconnected fields interact and discovering new ways for them to do so.”

Voce transferred to Syracuse from Clarkson University; she has sought out research opportunities since the summer before her freshman year, when she participated in a PreFrosh Summer Research Experience through Clarkson’s Honors Program. There, she studied the effects of commonly used fluorescent dyes on tendon mechanics, research that was published in the Journal of the Mechanics of Biomedical Materials.

In the summer of 2022, she participated in an REU at Texas State University focused on cybersecurity in connected vehicles. She helped create a reinforcement learning algorithm that could successfully identify which vehicles had been compromised by a cyberattack for networks that were more than 90% corrupted. She published and presented this research at the Association for Computing Machinery REUNS 2023 conference in Washington, D.C., and at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ International Conference on Consumer Electronics 2024 in Las Vegas. She will be studying abroad in Florence this summer through Syracuse Abroad.

After transferring to Syracuse, Voce joined the lab of Qinru Qiu, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, where she researches algorithms for neuromorphic computing. Her team focuses on developing software and artificial neural networks to run on Intel chips.

Voce plans to pursue a Ph.D. in computer science or neuroscience with a concentration in computational neuroscience. After obtaining her degrees, she plans to take a research position within the tech industry, working as either a computational neuroscientist or a machine learning engineer. “I aim to contribute novel insights toward the development of artificial intelligence systems that mimic the qualities of biological neural networks with the goal of increasing efficiency and accuracy in AI learning,” she says.

“The Goldwater Scholarship is an incredible honor that will not only assist me in my education but provide the opportunity to be a part of an amazing network of researchers that offer inspiration to pursue this career path,” Voce says.

CFSA seeks applicants for the Goldwater Scholarship each fall; the campus deadline is mid-November each year. Interested students should contact CFSA at��cfsa@syr.edu.

Fulbright grantee Anne Poe ’20, engaged in a English teaching assistantship in Spain, Here, she is planting with members of the community.

The Office of Research and the Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising will host a Fulbright Day on Wednesday, March 20, from 3-4:30 p.m. in the atrium of the Shaffer Art Building. The University community is invited to attend.

The event will introduce the campus community to the wide range of opportunities funded through , a U.S. government international academic exchange program that partners with more than 160 countries. The University’s Academic Strategic Plan includes an emphasis on internationalization that aligns with the opportunities Fulbright offers to students, alumni, faculty and staff.”

At Fulbright Day, attendees can learn about Fulbright opportunities available to faculty, students, alumni and staff and will hear from campus administrators and program alumni about the application process and Fulbright experience. Remarks will be offered by Lois Agnew, associate provost for academic programs.

Attendees at a poster session as part of the Fulbright Pre-Academic Program held by the English Language Institute.

Syracuse University was recently named as a Fulbright Top-Producing Institution for U.S. students for the second consecutive year. Eleven students from the University were selected for Fulbright research and teaching awards for academic year 2023-24 to the Czech Republic, France, Germany (three awards), Mexico, Oman, Poland, Spain (two awards) and Tajikistan. For the 2024-25 cohort, 31 of the University’s 39 applicants have been named as semifinalists. Awards will be announced this spring.

Other Fulbright opportunities include grants for faculty to research and teach abroad, “Specialist” grants for academics and professionals to engage in short-term exchanges abroad, and the Fulbright Foreign Student Program, which provides grants for graduate students from around the world to study in the United States. The University’s English Language Institute administers an orientation program for students who will go on to study at universities other than Syracuse.

For more information or to request accommodations, contact Juliette Rawda at jlrawda@syr.edu.

The society, the nation’s oldest and most selective, is unique in that it comprises both undergraduate and graduate students from all disciplines, making it a good fit for Syracuse.

In 2014, reorganizations left the Syracuse chapter without someone to lead it. But that is changing, as the Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising (CFSA) is currently in the process of restarting the chapter. Invitations have recently been sent to eligible students, says Adam Crowley, fellowships advisor with CFSA and president of the University’s chapter. An induction ceremony for the new members will be held on campus on Wednesday, March 27.

A 1916 telegram from Penn State congratulating Syracuse University on receiving enough votes to establish a Phi Kappa Phi chapter (Photo courtesy of Syracuse University Archives)

“This is the perfect time to relaunch our Phi Kappa Phi chapter,” Crowley says. “Phi Kappa Phi recognizes academic excellence in all disciplines, including professional schools. As the University emphasizes the value of interdisciplinary collaboration, this felt like the right opportunity to build a forum bringing together outstanding students in diverse fields.”

Initiation into the organization is limited to the top 7.5% of juniors based on academic standing, Crowley says. Seniors and graduate students in the top 10% based on academic standing are also eligible.

There are currently 325 active chapters in the country. From 2010-14, 545 students were inducted into the Syracuse chapter.

Crowley says membership in the organization opens up new opportunities for students, including scholarships, networking and attendance at a national conference. As the chapter grows, Crowley envisions bringing in speakers and developing opportunities for community service.

“One of our first priorities is recruiting student officers to help identify programming that will appeal to all of our members,” he says. “I’m looking forward to working with our student leaders to find ways that our new members can collaborate with each other.”

Crowley will be assisted in the administration of the chapter by Robert Wilson, associate professor of geography and the environment in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs (vice president) and Jolynn Parker, director of CFSA (secretary).

Members of Phi Kappa Phi across the nation have served in the White House, in Congress and the Supreme Court, and have won Nobel Prizes, Pulitzer Prizes and other national and international awards for service and achievement in their chosen fields.

Eleven students from the University were selected for Fulbright research and teaching awards for academic year 2023-24 to the Czech Republic, France, Germany (three awards), Mexico, Oman, Poland, Spain (two awards) and Tajikistan.

“Fulbright’s Top Producing Institutions represent the diversity of America’s higher education community. Dedicated administrators support students and scholars at these institutions to fulfill their potential and rise to address tomorrow’s global challenges. We congratulate them, and all the Fulbrighters who are making an impact the world over,” says Lee Satterfield, assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs.

The Fulbright competition is administered at��. This is the fourth time—and second year in a row—the University was named a Fulbright Top Producing Institution. The University was previously recognized for the 2012-13 cohort (under campus Fulbright advisor and professor emerita Susan Wadley) and the 2019-20 and 2022-23 cohorts (under CFSA).

Twenty-six faculty and staff members from across the University served on the campus Fulbright committee for the 2023-24 cohort. The committee is convened by CFSA; members interview applicants, provide feedback and complete a campus endorsement for each applicant. “Faculty and staff investment in our Fulbright candidates is crucial; our Fulbright work is an all-campus effort,” says Jolynn Parker, director of CFSA.

Kiana Khoshnoud ’23 with some of her students in a classroom in Tajikistan (Photo courtesy of Kiana Khoshnoud)

Students apply for Fulbright awards in the fall and awards are made in the spring. In the current competition for the 2024-25 cohort, 31 of the University’s 39 applicants have been named as semifinalists. Awards will be announced this spring.

Kiana Khoshnoud ’23 majored in public relations with a minor in environment and society at Syracuse. She is currently engaged in an English teaching assistantship in Dushanbe, the capital city of Tajikistan. She frequently travels to smaller villages outside of Dushanbe as well to work with Afghan refugee students.

She says her Fulbright experience has been life changing. “Becoming an educator has brought so much challenge and joy into my life. Tajik students are incredibly respectful, and I have been able to connect with hundreds of students,” she says. “Moreover, on the weekends, I get to pursue one of my passions, horseback riding.”

The classes Khoshnoud teaches are free and open to all, so each class has different students of various ages and English levels. She teaches 20 individual classes a week on a variety of subjects, including writing, basic English, public speaking, diversity and inclusion, critical thinking, filmmaking, magazine-making, current events, short stories, a book club, English conversation, the United States, art classes, geography and more.

Kiana Khoshnoud ’23 on horseback in Tajikistan (Photo courtesy of Kiana Khoshnoud)

“My goal as a teacher here is to bridge cultural gaps between Tajiks and Americans. As one of the first or only Americans many people here meet, it is important to provide the students with as much diverse knowledge about the United States as I can,” she says.

Khoshnoud’s grant includes a language stipend, and she has studied the Cyrillic alphabet and the Tajik language. She is now focused on mastering her Farsi language skills and attempting to learn a bit of Russian. “Many people in Tajikistan are bilingual and speak Tajik and Russian,” she says. “Also, I have been learning a new way of life. Tajikistan is a very unique country. I have learned how to adopt new cultures, and that is quite amazing.”

Khoshnoud says she will never forget her time in Tajikistan for many reasons. “The people here have been so welcoming,” she says. “As a new teacher, I have learned so much about how to manage classes with 40-50 students of different ages and levels. And I have become more confident in myself. I have had to rely on myself to face challenges head-on, and I am becoming a stronger person because of it.”

Fulbright is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. It is also among the largest and most diverse exchange programs in the world. Since its inception in 1946, more than 400,000 participants from all backgrounds and fields—including recent university graduates, teachers, scientists, researchers, artists and others, from the United States and over 160 other countries—have participated in the Fulbright Program. Fulbright alumni have returned to their home countries to make an impact on their communities thanks to their expanded worldview, a deep appreciation for their host country and its people, and a larger network of colleagues and friends.

Fulbright alumni work to make a positive impact on their communities, sectors and the world and have included 41 heads of state or government, 62 Nobel Laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize winners, 78 MacArthur Fellows and countless leaders and changemakers who carry forward the Fulbright mission of enhancing mutual understanding.

CFSA and the Office of Research will hold a Fulbright Day on Wednesday, March 20, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in the Shaffer Art Building Atrium.

Fulbright Day will introduce the campus community to the range of opportunities funded through Fulbright. Attendees can learn about Fulbright opportunities available to faculty, students, alumni and staff, and will hear from campus administrators and program alumni about the application process and Fulbright experience.

More information about the��.