Nine Rice University graduate students have won Special Endowed Fellowships for 2019-2020. The selection process is highly competitive and by nomination only. The awards are administered by the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, and winners are selected by the Graduate Council.
“This year's crop of nominees from across graduate programs, as in years past, were impressive in their quality, as well as diversity — there were many outstanding candidates and tough choices to make by the Graduate Council," said Bernard Fields, alumni representative of the Graduate Council.
Calling the selection process "rigorous", Fields noted that the fellowships play a critical role in student leadership development and also serve to raise Rice's profile.
"As a Rice graduate, I believe these fellowships, supported by the Rice community, are an investment that returns multiples — a win-win-win for the graduate students, the Rice community, and society overall."
The awards and winners are as follows:
Nettie S. Autrey Fellowship
This year's Nettie S. Autrey Fellowship has been awarded to Sunny Gupta, graduate student in Materials Science and NanoEngineering. The honor is bestowed on a graduate student in science or engineering who demonstrates “outstanding achievement and promise." The award amount varies but typically totals about $14,000.
Lodieska Stockbridge Vaughan Fellowship
The Vaughan Fellowship is given annually by the Rice Graduate Council to students who display “evidence of outstanding achievement and promise.” The award amount varies but typically totals about $16,000. Five awards are presented each year, one in social sciences, one in humanities and three in any discipline. This year's winners are Zelma Tuthill of Sociology, Philip Kelleher of Art History, Ian Campbell of BioSciences, Linyi Zhang of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, and Damanveer Grewal of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences.
Mrs. L.F. McCollum Fellowship
The McCollum Fellowship is awarded to graduate students in music and architecture. This year's winners are Joshua Hong of music, and Xi Luo and Jack Murphy of architecture.