Two alumni and two graduating Molecular Engineering majors from The College have been named National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellows for 2025.
The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP) is the oldest fellowship of its kind in the country and is considered one of the most prestigious, with many recipients achieving high levels of success in their future academic and professional careers. Past fellows include numerous Nobel Prize laureates, former U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Google founder Sergey Brin, and Freakonomics co-author Steven Levitt.
The fellowship provides students with a three-year annual stipend of $37,000 and a $12,000 cost-of-education allowance for tuition and fees, as well as access to opportunities for professional development.
“It is my great pleasure to congratulate these four exceptional young scientists,” said UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) Director of Undergraduate Studies Mark Stoykovich. “We’re excited to see where they take their UChicago engineering education and the advances and breakthroughs they’ll bring into the world.”
Emily Jacobs, SB’23, worked in Joyce Chen’s lab at UChicago PME, studying the lung’s epithelial response to fungal infections and nicotine exposure. She is currently a second-year Bioengineering PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania’s Momin Lab, engineering protein immunotherapies to prevent heart failure.
“I am extremely honored and excited to have received the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. I would not be where I am today without all the mentorship from more experienced UChicago PME students, friends, and members of the Chen Lab,” she said. “Now at Penn, as the first graduate student in my lab, I can really explore many research avenues and build a strong lab culture with this funding.”
Joshua Pixley will graduate in June as a triple major in Molecular Engineering (Bioengineering Track), Chemistry, and Biochemistry, supervised by UChicago Chemistry Prof. Bryan Dickinson. After graduation, he will join the incoming cohort of PhD candidates in Harvard University’s Chemistry and Chemical Biology (CCB) Program to develop chemical biology tools for treating complex diseases.
“Being awarded the NSF GRFP is an enormous honor, and I am immensely grateful to Prof. Bryan Dickinson and Dr. Matthew Styles for all their help and support over the last four years,” he said. “I could never have hoped for this award without the support of the university and the curricula crafted by faculty within the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering. With this award, I am sure that I will be able to perform the most impactful and highest quality research in my doctorate with the aim of using our understanding of the cell to fight disease.”
Gabrielle Solymosy will graduate in June with a degree in Molecular Engineering on the Chemical Engineering Track. Under Prof. Stuart Rowan and Assoc. Prof. Shrayesh Patel, she investigated the structure-property-processing relationships of organic ionic plastic crystals and their potential as solid-state electrolytes. Most recently, her research has focused on understanding how salt incorporation affects “pluripotent” polymer networks — materials whose mechanical properties can be tuned through tempering after they have been synthesized.
This fall, she will begin a PhD in Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she hopes to continue exploring the interdisciplinary field of polymer electrochemistry.
“Receiving the NSF GRFP has empowered me to pursue the interdisciplinary research directions that excite me most,” she said. “While co-advising is possible without external funding, the fellowship provides greater flexibility and makes it easier to pursue collaborative mentorship in graduate school — an experience that has been formative during my time at UChicago PME. I’m incredibly thankful to Professors Rowan and Patel, as well as the supportive students in both groups. I’m especially grateful to my mentor, graduate student Nicholas Boynton, whose guidance has been instrumental in my development as a scientist and who first introduced me to the excitement of research at the PME.”
Since hearing her kindergarten and pre-K teachers’ stories about growing up without regular access to clean water, Tess Teodoro, SB’21, has been drawn to water treatment technology. As a research assistant in the lab of UChicago PME Dean Emeritus Matthew Tirrell, she worked on developing a novel filtration material for selectively reclaiming phosphate from wastewater. After working several years in a materials science and environmental engineering firm, she is now pursuing a PhD in Environmental Engineering at the University of Michigan, specializing in drinking water disinfection processes.
"I'm extremely grateful for the mentorship and encouragement I received during my formative time at UChicago PME, especially from Whitney Fowler in the Tirrell Lab and Mark Stoykovich in the undergraduate UChicago PME program," she said. "Receiving the NSF GRFP is an immense honor and privilege, and it will allow me to continue researching this critical public health topic in a world where safe drinking water access is increasingly important and endangered."
The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognized other exemplary researchers with Honorable Mentions. Their list included four students graduating this June and four alumni: Genevieve Ansay, Emory Apodaca, SB’24, Taylor Elliott, Joseph Guter, SB’23, Maya McDaniel, Abbey Piatt Price, SB’24, Etienne Soto, SB’23, and Chloe Tsang.