Gregory Freihofer wins 2nd place at the SAMPE CAMX student paper competition
National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellows
National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellows
The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is a highly competitive and extremely prestigious program which provides support for the graduate education of individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant achievements in science and engineering research. The ranks of NSF Fellows include individuals who have made transformative breakthroughs in science and engineering research and have become leaders in their chosen careers and Nobel laureates. Nationwide, more than 16,000 thousand students apply, and 2,000 are selected from across the country. We’re very proud to have the following NSF Fellows from our research group:
Estefania Bohorquez
Estefania Bohorquez was awarded the NSF fellowship in 2018. She has also been recognized at Aviation Week’s 20 Twenties awards. She will spend ten months conducting research at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) facility in Cologne as part of her masters’ thesis under the Fulbright fellowship. Estefania joined the lab in Spring 2017 as part of her preparation for the IRES program. She will continue to work with her DLR collaborators on thermal barrier coatings failure identification.
Imad Hanhan
Imad was awarded the NSF fellowship in 2015. Imad joined the research team in the summer of 2013, and has been highly active in undergraduate research through the UCF Research and Mentoring Program (RAMP) and the NSF Innovation through Institutionalized Integration (ICubed) fellowship. Imad has also completed an Honors in the Major thesis, and graduated in May 2015 with honors. While researching advanced composites and stress sensing, Imad has traveled and conducted research at the Canadian Light Source, as well as Purdue University. As an undergraduate, he has also published a number of conference papers and a journal paper, and was awarded best research poster at MAE Research Day 2014, top research talk at Purdue’s Summer Research Symposium 2014, and honorable mention at UCF undergraduate research showcase 2015. After graduating, Imad pursued his Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University.
Sanna F. Siddiqui
Sanna F. Siddiqui was awarded the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship in 2013. Sanna Siddiqui is presently a PhD student in Mechanical Engineering. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering with honors distinction (Magna Cum Laude) and a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering in Summer 2014. She has been the recipient of several honors including the President’s Honor Roll, Dean’s List, Who’s Who among students at UCF, NSF GRFP Fellowship and several scholarship awards. Sanna has also been awarded the Zonta International Amelia Earhart Fellowship. The Amelia Earhart Fellowship is awarded to women across the world pursuing doctoral degrees in aerospace-related engineering and science disciplines. Among the 35 Fellows awarded worldwide in 2015, Sanna has been honored with this award. She joined Dr. Raghavan’s research lab in Spring 2012 and her research interest is in thermal barrier coatings (TBC).
Talia Field
Talia was awarded the NSF Fellowship in 2013. She graduated from UCF with her Bachelor’s degree and was highly active in undergraduate research in the area of Thermal Barrier Coatings. She also presented at the AIAA SciTech conference in 2012.
Spencer Frank
Spencer Frank was awarded the NSF fellowship in 2012. The award will support Spencer as he pursues his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at UC Berkeley. With over 3 years of undergraduate research background in our laboratory with various contributions in areas of turbine blade flutter, piezospectroscopy and mechanics of nanocomposites, we know that Spencer is more than ready for his next endeavor. The program recognizes and supports outstanding students who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in fields within NSF’s mission.
Ashley Jones
Ashley was awarded the NSF Graduate research fellowship in 2011. Ashley was an active undergraduate researcher working on high impact research in our laboratory. In addition to her excellent academic and research portfolio, she has been active in mentoring and volunteering efforts. Ashley’s research has been funded by the UCF Office of Research and Commercialization In-house Research Grant. Ashley has been supported by the Undergraduate Research Initiative by the UCF Office of Research and Commercialization. Ashley graduated with her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from UCF.
Rene Diaz
Rene was awarded the NSF Graduate research fellowship in 2011. Rene was an active undergraduate researcher working on high impact research in our laboratory. In addition to his excellent academic and research portfolio, he has been active in mentoring and volunteering efforts. Rene’s research has been funded by FCAAP and the NSF I-cubed program. Rene has been supported by the Undergraduate Research Initiative by the UCF Office of Research and Commercialization.