Women Recipients of NSF Fellowship - Virginia Tech Graduate School

Women Recipients of National Science Foundation
Graduate Research Fellowship at Virginia Tech

The National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) began in 1952 "to ensure for the Nation a future stream of highly qualified scientists and engineers to undertake careers in research and development." (Final Evaluation Report, NSF GRFP, 2002) . The Minority Graduate Fellowship Program was added in 1978 (ending in 1998) to increase participation among minority and under-represented populations, and in 1990 the Women in Engineering program was developed to increase the number of women studying in this area.

The prestigious fellowship award carries a lucrative three-year portable stipend and cost of education allowance. Virginia Tech also adds an additional stipend to cover the costs of research equipment, health insurance and similar expenses. It is a mark of status for a university to be selected for enrollment by a GRFP recipient. In recent years NSF Graduate Research Fellows (GRF) have concentrated their choice of university on those that have been designated by the Carnegie Foundation as Research 1 institutions.

The Graduate School administers the GRFP at Virginia Tech and maintains historical files. Students who were awarded fellowships and opted to attend another university were not tracked. The following women used their research fellowship to pursue advanced studies at Virginia Tech. Fellowship years are shown next to their names.

Virginia Tech's Outstanding Graduate Women Students in Science and Engineering


1966 Laraine M. Unbehaun Ph.D., Plant Pathology, 1969	Dissertation: Pectic enzymes associated with black root rot of tobacco Major Professor: Dr. Laurence Moore Where she is today: Professor Emeritus (retired) of Biology and Microbiology, University of Wisconsin Bio-note: In 1966 Unbehaun became the first female graduate student at Virginia Tech to be awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. In 1969 she received the VPI & SU Chapter of the Society of the Sigma Xi (the Scientific Research Society founded in 1886) award for research excellence in a Ph.D. project. That same year she accepted a professorship in biology and microbiology at the University of Wisconsin, where she worked for 30 years. Unbehaun coordinated the NSF-sponsored "Women and Science Program" at the UW-LaCrosse campus from 1986 to 1999. Today she is active in field trial events for working retrievers.


1976 Susan Saefkow Brown Ph.D., Botany, 1980	Dissertation: Localization and characterization of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase during development of Dictyostelium discoideum Major Professor: Dr. Charles L. Rutherford Bio-note: Following her graduation Brown accepted a position at Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.


1981 Cynthia C. Jara-Almonte Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, 1985	Dissertation: Finite element analysis of subregions using a specified boundary stiffness/force method Where she is today: After graduating from Virginia Tech, Jara-Almonte became an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Clemson University specializing in the area of rapid prototyping. Over the years she has continued her research collaboration with Virginia Tech Professor Larry D. Mitchell.


1983 Carolyn Rose Rebbert MS, Geological Sciences	Thesis: Biotite Oxidation: An Experimental and Thermodynamic Approach Advisor: D. A. Hewitt Where she is today: Rebbert is Director of the Bob Campbell Geology Museum at Clemson University. Bio-note: Rebbert went on to receive her Ph.D. at the University of Oregon. Following graduation she went to work at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.


1991 Linda G. Blevins MS, Mechanical Engineering , 1992 Blevins and colleagues at Sandia	Thesis: Effects of High Levels of Steam Addition on NOx Reduction In Laminar Opposed Flow Diffusion Flames Advisor: Uri Vandsburger Where she is today: Sandia National Laboratories, Senior Member of Technical Staff Combustion Research Facility, Livermore, Calif. Bio-note: While a student at Virginia Tech Blevins worked with the Reacting Flows Laboratory/Virginia Active Combustion Control Group.


1991 Christine A. Perry MS, Engineering Mechanics, 1995	Thesis: "Minimum Weight Design of Compressively Loaded Stiffened Panels for Postbuckling Performance" Advisor: Zafer Gurdal Where she is today: Tektronix, Inc., Oregon


1992 Karen Davis Holl Ph.D. Biology, 1994	Dissertation: Vegetational and Lepidopteran Conservation in Rehabilitated Ecosystems Advisor: John Cairns Where she is today: University of California at Santa Cruz, Associate Professor Department of Environmental Studies Bio-note: Following the awarding of her doctorate, Holl was the Department of Energy Global Change Distinguished Post-Doctoral Fellow at Stanford University from 1994-1996.


1992 Karen Baker Masters of Business Administration, 1997	Advisor: Ronald D. Johnson Bio-note: Prior to transferring to the Pamplin College of Business, Ms. Baker was an NSF Graduate Research Fellow in the Industrial and Systems Engineering Dept. studying human-computer interactions and consumer product designs.


1992 Susan Cox-Stouffer Ph.D. Aerospace Engineering, 1997	Dissertation: Numerical Simulation of Injection and Mixing in Supersonic Flow Advisors: Joseph Schetz and Robert Walters Where she is today: Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Air Force Research Laboratory, Dayton, Ohio Bio-note: While a senior aerospace engineering student at Virginia Tech, Cox was one of 20 students nationwide chosen by USA Today for the 1992 All-USA Academic First Team. The key element considered was outstanding original academic or intellectual production by the student. She was also a finalist for a Rhodes Scholarship and worked at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility as a co-op student for several years before graduation.


1993 Jennifer Marie Deang Ph.D., Mathemantics, 1997	Dissertation: A Study of Inhomogeneities and Anisotrophies In Superconductors via Ginzburg-Landau Type models Advisor: Max D. Gunzburger Where she is today: Lockheed Martin, Texas Bio-note: In addition to NSF, Deang was partially funded by the Air Force's Center for Optimal Design and Control.


1993 Angela L. Wesner MS, Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, 1995 Ph.D., Aerospace Engineering, awarded 1996	Dissertation: An Interferometric Study of Unsteady Passing Shock Flow In A Turbine Cascade Advisor: Joseph A. Schetz Where she is today: Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory Bio-note: While a graduate student, Wesner was selected to receive the national Gordon C. Oates Air Breathing Propulsion Graduate Award by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.


1995 Monique R. Jackson Ph.D candidate, Chemical Engineering	Dissertation Title: Development of Chitosan-Based Composite Membranes for Protein Separation Advisor: Eva Marand Where she is today: U.S. Patent Office Patent Examiner - Chemical Technology, Alexandria, Virginia Bio-note: While a graduate student, she was the founding president of Council for the Advancement of Minority Engineering Organizations (CAMEO) and first president of the Society of Hispanic Engineers at Virginia Tech. Jackson is a current member of the College of Engineering's Industrial Advisory Committee.

1996 Carol A. Steichen Hanuska MS, Mechanical Engineering, 1998	Advisor: Wing Fai Ng Where she is today : E.I. Dupont Demours and Company, Technical Engineer, Field Engineering Program, Delaware

1996 Carey Gwynne Buxton Ph.D. Electrical Engineering, 2001	Dissertation: Design of a Broadband Array Using the Foursquare Radiating Element Advisor: Warren L. Stutzman. Where she is today: Federal Bureau of Investigations, working in research capacity, Quantico, Virginia Bio-note: Dr. Buxton was also a 3-year recipient of the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering's prestigious Bradley Fellowship. She received her undergraduate and master's degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Kentucky.

1996 Maureen H. McArthur M.S., Science and Technology Studies, 1997	Thesis: The Impacts of Owning Private Companies on University Faculty: The Experiences of Biotechnology Faculty and University Administrators in One University Advisor: Richard M. Burian Where she is today: Rand Corporation Graduate School Program in Policy Analysis Bio-note: From the Rand website is this information: Maureen McArthur has worked at the University of Kentucky where she assisted with government affairs related to scientific research and with the development of policies regarding research with human subjects. She also has experience as a pharmaceutical company liaison with state and federal regulatory agencies.

1996 Barbara M. P. Fraticelli Ph.D., Industrial and Systems Engineering, 2001	Dissertation: Semidefinite Cuts and Partial Convexification Techniques with Applications to Continuous Nonconvex Optimization, Stochastic Integer Programming, and Facility Layout Problems Advisor: Hanif Sherali Where she is today: Virginia Tech, Visiting Professor, ISE Dept. Bio-note: Fraticelli has both a bachelor's and a master's of science in industrial engineering from Pennsylvania State University where she received numerous awards and scholarships for being in the top five percent of her class. She served as chief justice of the Graduate Honor System at Virginia Tech for several years. She received the first-place Pritsker Doctoral Dissertation Award by the Institute of Industrial Engineers in 2002.

1997 Julie Fine McClafferty M.S. Fisheries & Wildlife, 2000 Conservation Management Institute's main office in Blacksburg, VA.	Thesis: Elk restoration in Virginia: An assessment of the biological and socioeconomic feasibility Advisor: James A. Parkhurst Where she is today: Conservation Management Institute, Human Dimensions Division Coordinator, Blacksburg, VA Bio-Note: McClafferty initiated and built the Human Dimensions Division of the Conservation Management Institute. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Delaware Honors Program.

1998 Heather Veith Rectanus M.S., Civil Engineering, 2000	Thesis: Assessment of Intrinsic Bioremediation at a PCE Contaminated Site Advisors: John Novak, Mark Widdowson Where she is today: Ph.D. in progress at Virginia Tech Bio-note: Rectanus graduated summa cum laude from Kansas State University with double majors in engineering and German. She is also the recipient of the Charles Via PhD Fellowship and the US Department of Education GAANN Fellowhsip in Civil Engineering. She credits her babysitter, a civil engineering student, as her inspiration to pursue graduate studies.

1999 Sandra L. Robinson M.S., Environmental Engineering, 2001	Thesis: Phytoremediation Mechanisms of a Creosote-Contaminated Site Advisors: John Novak, Mark Widdowson Where she is today: Robinson is working as an environmental remediation technology consultant.

2000 Jana L. Schwartz M.S. Aerospace Engineering, 2002 Ph.D. in progress at Virginia Tech	Dissertation Topic: The Distributed Spacecraft Attitude Control System Simulator: From Design Concept to Decentralized Control Advisor: Christopher D. Hall Bio-note: Schwartz is also a NASA Graduate Researcher Fellow and has received the Zonta International Amelia Earhart Fellowship and the Peace Education Organization Scholarship.

2000 Kay Vugrin M.S., Mathematics, 2003 Ph.D. in progress at Virginia Tech	Thesis: On the Effect of Numerical Noise in Simulation-Based Optimization Advisor: Jeff Borggaard

Theresa Gouker Cassino M.S. Chemical Engineering, 2003 Ph.D. in progress at Virginia Tech	Thesis: Quantification of the Binding of Insulin Like Growth Factor I (IGF-I) and IGF Binding Protein 3 Using Surface Plasmon Resonance Advisor: Kimberly Forsten Williams Bio-note: Cassino received the1998 Annual Top Student Award in Chemical Engineering at Rowan University, where she earned her undergraduate degree.

Amanda Cundy Rutherford M.S. Engineering Mechanics, 2002	Thesis: Use of Response Surface Metamodels in Damage Identification of Dynamic Structures Advisor: Daniel J. Inman Where she is today: Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, Technical Staff Member, Engineering Sciences and Applications, Weapon Response Bio-Note: By the time she was hired at Los Alamos, Cundy had spent five summers involved in its Dynamic Student Summer programs. She nominated her mentor at Los Alamos for its 2002 Women's Career Development Mentoring Award citing, the opportunities provided to her " to go to conferences, his ability to show how to do research and to consider the Laboratory as a long-term place of employment."

2002 Krista Lynn Rule Ph.D. in progress at Virginia Tech	Major: Environmental Engineering Advisor: Peter J. Vikesland

2003 Caroline K. Nguyen Ph.D. in progress at Virginia Tech	Major: Environmental Engineering Bio-note: Nguyen graduated from North Carolina State University where she participated in the NSF Green Processing REU. Her research project was "Evaluating a wastewater treatment plant dynamic model."

2004 Juliette Mammei Ph.D. in progress at Virginia Tech	Major: Physics Advisor: Mark Pitt Bio-note: Juliette, along with her husband Russell, were the only two nuclear physics students selected for NSF Graduate Research Fellowships in 2003. They are working on a new model of elementary particle physics.

2004 Satenik Hartyunyan Ph.D. in progress at Virginia Tech	Major: Materials Science Engineering

2004 Sarah Portier Masters degree in progress at Virginia Tech	Major: Aerospace Engineering Primary Advisor: Rakesh K. Kapania

2004 Emily Sarver Ph.D. in progress at Virginia Tech	Major: Mining Engineering Primary Advisor: Gregory T. Adel

Virginia Tech has been awarded a five-year ADVANCE grant from the National Science Foundation. The NSF ADVANCE program is designed to increase the participation and advancement of women in academic science and engineering careers through comprehensive and creative strategies aimed at institutional transformation. Visit the VT Advance Home Page.

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