SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH (April 12, 2022) — Andrew Simonson of Dewitt, Iowa, is among the University of Utah's largest-ever cohort of graduate students recognized in the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP). Simonson, who is studying chemical engineering and earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Utah, received a GRFP award.
In total, twenty University students received GRFP awards and eleven received honorable mentions.
"We had really moved the mark over the past few years, but this year we hit it out of the park," said David Kieda, dean of the U's Graduate School.
Established in 1952, the NSF GRFP is the oldest fellowship program of its kind. The 2022 fellows receive a three-year annual stipend of $34,000, a $12,000 cost of allowance for tuition and fees, and numerous research and professional-development opportunities.
Kieda notes that this year's cohort of twenty fellows is the sixth-highest among Pac-12 peers and includes graduate students in sixteen different departments, ranging from Child Development to Ecology to Biomedical Engineering.
About the U
The University of Utah, located in Salt Lake City in the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains, is the flagship institution of higher-learning in Utah. Founded in 1850, it serves over 32,000 students from across the US and the world. With over 100 major subjects at the undergraduate level and more than ninety major fields of study at the graduate level, including law and medicine, the university prepares students to live and compete in the global workplace. In 2019, the university was selected as a new member of the Association of American Universities — an invitation-only, prestigious group of 65 leading research institutions marked by excellence in academic expertise and research impact, student success, and securing resources in support of core missions. Known for its proximity to seven world-class ski resorts within forty minutes of campus, the U encourages an active, holistic lifestyle, innovation, and collaborative thinking to engage students, faculty, and business leaders.
