Six RPI students have been awarded fellowships from the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). 

A highly prestigious and competitive award, the fellowship supports full-time graduate students with the potential to make significant contributions in STEM.  

Undergraduate winners include Chloe Sharp ’26, Environmental Engineering, Nadine Grant, ’26, Biomedical Engineering, and Jayashree Balaraman, ’26, Computational Biology and Biochemistry. 

Two Ph.D. students are also recipients – Jaron Shoemaker, Biomedical Engineering, and Katie Sullivan, Science and Technology Studies – along with recent graduate Nilaish Sen ’25, who is pursuing his Ph.D. at Cal Tech. Honorable mentions were also given to Ethan Fisk, ’26, physics, and alum Phoebe Demers. 

Each earned the fellowship because of their outstanding skills, leadership, and strong potential to make a difference in STEM. Competing against 14,000 applicants, these students finished in the top 15% across all fields. 

This year’s awards reflect a proud tradition of science excellence at RPI. Over the past 20 years, 125 RPI students have earned NSF Graduate Research Fellowships – a testament to the Institute’s longstanding commitment to producing outstanding scientists and engineers who shape their fields.  

“It is a privilege to accompany the students on this journey as they secure this life changing opportunity.” said Betty Madigan, RPI fellowship advisor, who worked with each of the fellowship recipients. “The application process itself requires the kind of hard work that RPI students excel at.”  

The purpose of the GRFP is to help ensure the quality, vitality, and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States. The fellowship recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who have demonstrated the potential to be high-achieving scientists and engineers, early in their careers. Applicants must be pursuing full-time research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) or in STEM education at accredited U.S. institution. 

Rising seniors and first year graduate students are encouraged to participate in the NSF GRFP Bootcamp this summer to prepare for the next application cycle. For more information and for assistance with the application process, email Betty Madigan at madige@rpi.edu.