Women receive 55 percent of awards this year, their highest ever; 28 fellowships went to veterans

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced this year's recipients of Graduate Research Fellowships (GRF). The 2013 NSF Graduate Research Fellows represent a diverse group of scientific disciplines, and come from all states and the District of Columbia, as well as U.S. commonwealths and territories. They are also a diverse group of individuals: Among the 2,000 awardees, 1,102 are women, 390 are from underrepresented minority groups, 51 are persons with disabilities, and 28 are veterans.

Since 1952, NSF has provided fellowships to individuals selected early in their careers based on their demonstrated potential for significant achievements in science and engineering. The ranks of NSF Fellows include individuals who have made transformative breakthroughs in science and engineering research, become leaders in their chosen careers, and been honored as Nobel laureates--from Sergey Brin to Steven Chu to Ben Bernanke. The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is part of NSF's overall strategy to develop a globally engaged workforce necessary to ensure the nation's leadership in advancing science and engineering research and innovation.

GRF Meredith Barrett evaluates the health of lemur species in Madagascar, and also attempts, in collaboration, to determine Microcebus species delimitations. Photo credit: Meredith A. Barrett, Duke University

With its emphasis on support of individuals, the GRFP provides a mechanism for increasing the participation of women, minorities, persons with disabilities, and veterans in science and engineering. This is the first year that the program has targeted increased participation of veterans.

The GRFP provides three years of financial support within a five-year fellowship period ($30,000 annual stipend and $12,000 cost-of-education allowance to the graduate institution) for graduate study in a field within NSF's mission that leads to a research-based master's or doctoral degree. Fellows may also be eligible for access to cyberinfrastructure resources through the NSF-supported Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE) and for Facilitation Awards for Scientists and Engineers with Disabilities (FASED). In addition, Fellows have the opportunity for international research collaborations through the Graduate Research Opportunities Worldwide (GROW) initiative.

The 2013 class of Graduate Fellows come from 434 baccalaureate institutions, 50 more than in 2010, when GRFP began awarding 2,000 fellowships each year. Forty percent of the new Graduate Fellows indicated interdisciplinary fields of study. The most popular primary fields of study are life sciences and engineering, reflecting 29 percent and 25 percent of fellowships, respectively.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent residents, and are selected through the NSF merit review process.

A complete list of those offered this fellowship for 2013 is available online.

General information about the program is available at the GRFP website.