UTEP Students, Alumni Earn Prestigious STEM Fellowships
EL PASO, Texas (April 29, 2024) – Seven current students and recent graduates from The University of Texas at El Paso have received two of the most highly competitive national scholarships for research in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) — the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP).
The Goldwater Scholarship is awarded to sophomores and juniors active in undergraduate research and provides up to $7,500 annually for tuition and fees. The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship is awarded to undergraduate seniors and first- or second-year graduate students. It provides three years of funding for a research-based master’s degree or Ph.D. in an eligible STEM field.
“The best students at UTEP can compete with the best students anywhere,” said UTEP President Heather Wilson. “It’s great to see so many UTEP students applying for and receiving these awards.”
Paulina Vargas
A junior neuroscience major, Vargas has been named a 2024 recipient the Goldwater Scholarship and is the third-ever UTEP student selected for this honor. Vargas is an undergraduate researcher in the lab of Sergio D. Iñiguez, Ph.D., professor and associate chair of the Department of Psychology. Vargas’ research examines the relationship between exposure to social stress and response to drugs of abuse, as well as memory-related performance. She is particularly interested in understudied populations, such as women and adolescents. After graduating in May of 2025, Vargas plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Neuroscience.
The 2024 NSF Graduate Research Fellowships were awarded to the following six UTEP students and recent alumni.
Dylan Diaz-Infante
Diaz-Infante is currently a Ph.D. student in sociocultural anthropology at Arizona State University. He graduated from UTEP in May of 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology. While at UTEP, Diaz-Infante’s research mentors were Josiah Heyman, Ph. D., and Carina Heckert, Ph.D., from the Department of Sociology and Anthropology.
Ivana Hernandez
Hernandez will soon be a two-time alumna of UTEP as she completes her master’s degree in biomedical engineering. She will remain at her alma mater as a Ph.D. student, also in biomedical engineering. Hernandez’s research mentors are Binata Joddar, Ph.D., from the Department of Metallurgical, Materials, and Biomedical Engineering, and Joshua Green, Ph.D., from the Departments of Engineering Education and Leadership and Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering.
Alexis Lupo
Lupo graduated from UTEP with a bachelor’s degree in physics and is currently a Ph.D. student in aerospace engineering at the University of Southern California. While at UTEP, her research mentors included Md Mahamudur Rahman, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, and Mark R. Pederson, Ph.D., chair of the Physics Department.
Sergio Olivas
Olivas received his bachelor’s degree in economics from UTEP in May of 2020 and was mentored by Thomas Fullerton, Ph.D. Olivas currently works at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and will begin a doctoral program in economics at The University of Texas at Austin this fall.
Kajaya Pollard
Pollard will graduate from UTEP this May with a bachelor’s degree in ecology and evolutionary biology. Her research mentor is Brett Seymoure, Ph.D., from the Department of Biological Sciences.
Martin Quintana
Quintana will complete his bachelor’s degree in physics from UTEP in July of 2024 and remain at his alma mater to enroll in the material science and engineering Ph.D. program. His research mentor is Leo Bañuelos, Ph.D., from the Department of Physics.
The 2023-24 NSF GRFP competition was especially fierce as there were 500 fewer fellowships awarded than last year. The award provides three years of funding to students pursuing a research-based master’s or doctoral degree in STEM. Including this year’s cohort, a total of 26 UTEP graduates have received the award since 2019.
UTEP’s recipients of the Goldwater and NSF GRFP awards received comprehensive guidance throughout the application process from the University’s Office of Student Fellowships and Awards. The office’s mission is to make UTEP students and recent alumni aware of nationally competitive scholarships for which they are qualified and provide support and guidance as they prepare their application materials.
More information on the services provided by the fellowships office is available here.
About The University of Texas at El Paso
The University of Texas at El Paso is America’s leading Hispanic-serving university. Located at the westernmost tip of Texas, where three states and two countries converge along the Rio Grande, 84% of our 24,000 students are Hispanic, and more than half are the first in their families to go to college. UTEP offers 170 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs at the only open-access, top-tier research university in America.
Last Updated on April 29, 2024 at 12:00 AM | Originally published April 29, 2024
By MC Staff UTEP Marketing and Communications
