The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) provides three years of support for graduate study leading to research-based master’s or doctoral degrees. 2,600 Fellowships were awarded this year to graduating seniors and first- and second-year graduate students to ensure the vitality of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in the United States. Congratulations to this year’s fellowship recipients and honorable mentions!

Current Undergraduate winners

Rachel White

• Major: Astronomy & Astrophysics
• Ohio State Research advisors: Professor Kaeli Hughes and Professor Richard Hughes
• Heading to Michigan State University for graduate school.

Phoenix-Avery Sarían

• Major: Astronomy & Astrophysics
• Ohio State research advisors: Professor Paul Martini and Professor Wayne Schlingman, with supervision from Dr. William Coulton (University of Oxford, Department of Physics)
• Heading to the University of Wisconsin for graduate school.

Alexander Torres

• Majors: Astronomy &Astrophysics and Physics
• Ohio State research advisor: Professor Klaus Honscheid
• Heading to Michigan State University for graduate school.

Physics Graduate Students

Jack Etheridge (honorable mention)

• First Year Graduate Fellow in the Ohio State Department of Physics
• Undergraduate institution: Texas A&M University
• Research focus: Condensed Matter Theory

Alumni

In addition to our current students listed above, our recent alumni have also received the NSF Graduate Fellowships or an honorable mention:

Ian Harris

• Graduated in May 2025 with a double major in Physics and Astronomy & Astrophysics.
• Currently a graduate student in Nuclear Engineering at Ohio State.

Sydney Petz

• Graduated in May 2024 with a major in Astronomy & Astrophysics.
• Currently a graduate student at Michigan State University

Josie Rose

• Graduated in May 2025 with a double major in Physics and Astronomy & Astrophysics.
• Currently a Physics graduate student at Yale University.

Ashley Tarrant

• Graduated in May 2025 with a double major in Physics and Astronomy & Astrophysics.
• Scheduled to begin a graduate program at the University of Colorado-Boulder in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences.

Dasha Crocker (honorable mention)

• Graduated in May 2025 with a double major in Physics and Astronomy & Astrophysics.
• Currently an Astronomy graduate student at the University of Michigan.

Calder Lenhart (honorable mention)

• Graduated in December 2024 with a double major in Physics and Astronomy & Astrophysics.
• Currently an ASAS-SN Analyst and heading to the University of Kansas for graduate school.

Dylan Wells (honorable mention)

• Graduated in August 2025 with a major in Physics.
• Currently a graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh.

From left to right: Rachel White, Alexander Torres, Jack Etheridge, and Phoenix-Avery Sarían

From left to right: Rachel White, Alexander Torres, Jack Etheridge, and Phoenix-Avery Sarían