Three Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute graduate students have been awarded National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowships. The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees.

The graduate students are: Jesica Bauer, Christopher Wiedeman, and Meaghan Podlaski. Four Rensselaer students were also awarded the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Honorable Mention.

Bauer, a graduate student in mathematical sciences, is using deep learning techniques to solve difficult optimization problems, such as the vehicle routing problem and meta-surface development. These problems are difficult to solve because they can quickly become computationally prohibitive when analyzed on a realistic scale. Utilizing deep learning techniques may allow us to generate solutions to these problems and solve the problem in a much more efficient way than the current methods allow. A method that is able to quickly generate solutions to these sorts of problems is highly sought after by both the public and private sectors.

Podlaski, an electrical engineering student who also earned her undergraduate degree at Rensselaer, is working with the NASA-backed Center for Cryogenic High-Efficiency Electrical Technologies for Aircraft (CHEETA), which is aimed at developing a multi-domain model of an aircraft architecture that utilizes liquid hydrogen energy storage with fuel cell energy conversion and an electrically driven distributed propulsion system. The fellowship will support her research in modeling, simulation, and system identification of cyber-physical systems, specifically power systems and electrified transportation.

Wiedeman, a graduate student in electrical, computer, and systems engineering, is leveraging AI and deep learning in medical imaging. Currently, most tomographic medical imaging modalities, such as CT and magnetic resonance (MR), are useful for many diagnoses, but are only available in large hospitals. Wiedeman’s work is aimed at using ultrasound and X-ray systems together with artificial intelligence for more accessible medical screenings.

The NSF also awarded fellowships to three Rensselaer undergraduates – Youssef Edir, Marcello Thomas DeLuca, and Alexandra Michelle Deal — who will pursue their graduate education elsewhere.

Edir, an electrical engineer who will attend Princeton University, is looking into repurposing batteries that have outlived their useful live in electric vehicles, but still retain around 70% of their original capacity. His work will support energy storage and integrating renewable energy into the grid. 

The students recognized with an Honorable Mention are graduate students Edward Scott in the field of acoustics, William Ellis Parker in aeronautical and aerospace engineering, Derek Nelson in biomedical engineering, and undergraduate Sara Elizabeth Harper in biomedical engineering.