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IME graduate student Viktor Rozsa awarded DOE NNSA fellowship

Viktor Rozsa, an IME graduate student working under Professor Giulia Galli, was recently awarded the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration Stewardship Science Graduate Fellowship (DOE NNSA SSGF). The fellowship is funded by the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration and provides excellent financial benefits and professional development opportunities to students pursuing a PhD in fields of study that solve complex science and engineering problems critical to stewardship science and national defense. Specifically, it funds students in the areas of high energy density physics, nuclear science, hydrodynamics, and materials under extreme conditions. ‪Rozsa's own work fits in the last category, as it studies the physics of water and hydrogen bonding at extremely high pressures and temperatures with application to both planetary science and fundamental physics.‬

“Over the course of my research so far, I've shifted in method from using the experimental tools of diamond anvils and hydraulic presses to using the intricate tools of computer simulation. Yet my research passion is constant: to understand the exceptional and bizarre chemical behavior of molecules under extreme conditions. I am particularly interested in tapping the unique gauges of high pressure and temperature in the molecular engineering of novel materials. I'm excited to connect these goals with the opportunities from this fellowship!” said Rozsa.

The fellowship builds a strong network and community of talented and committed doctoral students, program alumni, DOE laboratory staff, and university researchers who share a common goal to further their science while advancing national defense. The friendships and connections formed among fellows in the program often last throughout their careers.

"‪It's an honor to have been awarded the DOE NNSA Stewardship Science Fellowship. I am grateful to the DOE and NNSA for this opportunity as well as the mentors that have helped me come this far. The fellowship gives me the financial independence to fully and completely pursue my own research interests. I especially look forward to the opportunity to participate in a 12-week practicum at one of the four DOE national defense laboratories. The practicum will introduce me to the critical research world outside the university setting in the form of government labs. This experience will expand my scientific horizons while diversifying my own research during the course of my graduate work at the IME. All this being said, I am most looking forward to the chance to meet and interact with the other DOE NNSA fellows. The small size of the program and its focused scope will allow us to directly inform each other's research as we build relationships that may last deep into our careers,” said Rozsa.‬‬