CEE Doctoral Students Receive NSF Fellowships and Honorable Mentions

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has selected two CEE doctoral students to receive 2018 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) Fellowships.

The awardees are Katherine Dowdell and Steven Woodruff. Katherine (Kate) is advised by Professor Lutgarde Raskin and Steven is advised by Assistant Professor Evgueni Filipov.

Kate’s general interest is in biological treatment processes applied to drinking water treatment and potable water reuse applications. Her research focuses on limiting selection of opportunistic bacterial pathogens in biofiltration systems. Her research will also focus on making innovative microbiological methods available to water utilities. In addition to receiving the NSF GRFP Fellowship, Kate was recently admitted to participate in the 2018 Hopkins Microbiology Course at Stanford University.

Steven is interested in structural analysis of origami inspired deployable systems. His research focuses on creating new tools to better understand the characteristic of structures made from curved creasing of thin sheets. He is investigating how these systems can allow for novel functions and advantages in various civil engineering and architecture applications.

The GRFP recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and in STEM education. The GRFP provides three years of support for the graduate education of individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant research achievements in STEM and STEM education.

The NSF has also recognized two CEE doctoral students with an honorable mention.

Alyssa DeSimone is advised by Associate Professor Ann Jeffers and is researching structural fire interaction using a coupled computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and finite element analysis (FEA) approach.

Brooke Mason will be starting her doctoral program this fall with Assistant Professor Branko Kerkez. She is interested in intelligent water systems and has been working with Prof. Kerkez remotely through the U-M Real-Time Water Systems Lab.