Five Graduate Students Win Summer Stipend Competition
In the spring, the College of Science and the Graduate School held a summer stipend competition for graduate students in the College of Science. The college received 35 very strong applications and selected five outstanding recipients based on the description of their proposed research, academic qualifications, and detailed plans to submit and secure an external graduate fellowship. The competition was created in an effort to increase the number of external fellowship applications submitted by Notre Dame graduate students. Those who received the summer stipends are then required to submit at least one external student fellowship application.
The recipients are Chad Meyer (Physics), Stephen Flood (Mathematics), Kevin Tvrdy (Chemistry and Biochemistry), Candice Lumibao (Biological Sciences), and Jeffrey Bertke (Chemistry and Biochemistry). Meyer’s research aims to better understand turbulence in star and planet formation by comparing computational models of the earliest stages of planet formation and experimentally obtained observational data. Flood is exploring two complementary projects in applied mathematics and computability theory that have potential applications in science and engineering research, as well as commercial processes. Tvrdy is seeking to identify an alternative to silicon-based solar cells, by studying the mechanism of electron transfer in quantum dot metal oxide assembles. Lumibao is evaluating the genetic impact of human land-use against the backdrop of exotic disease and climate change. Her studies will help identify and define future conservation practices and management objectives. Finally, Bertke’s research characterizes and evaluates the properties of high connectivity materials for use in several applications, including gas sorption, optics, and molecule exchange.
Evaluation of these applications made it clear that the top graduate students in each of our departments are highly competitive for external graduate fellowships. A key step towards this increased recognition is increased submission of applications. Thus, to promote increased submission of these types of proposals, the College of Science will offer a $2,500 research supplement to graduate students and their advisors who apply for and receive a 12-month externally funded graduate fellowship.
