Purdue Engineering Students Secure Top NSF Graduate Research Fellowships

Event Date:
April 17, 2026
Purdue University’s College of Engineering continues to demonstrate its excellence on the national stage, as its undergraduate student alumni and graduate students have once again secured a remarkable number of National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP) awards. NSF handed out a record 2,599 of its prestigious fellowships in 2026, with Purdue Engineering maintaining a strong percentage of award recipients.

The NSF GRFP is one of the most competitive and esteemed fellowships in the United States, supporting outstanding graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It provides three years of financial support, including an annual stipend and a cost-of-education allowance, enabling recipients to pursue cutting-edge research and contribute to the nation’s scientific and technological progress.

As Purdue Engineering celebrates this year’s cohort of NSF fellows and honorable mentions, the college reaffirms its commitment to fostering the next generation of research leaders.

2026 NSF GRFP Awardees

Name

Baccalaureate Institution

Current Institution

Field of Study

Aydt, Abaigeal

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Purdue University

Mechanical Engineering

Brandes, Giada

Boise State University

Purdue University

Biomedical Engineering

Chitturi, Geetika

Purdue University

Purdue University

Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Condarcure, Marcus

University of California-Santa Barbara

Purdue University

Chemical Engineering

Cooke, Wesley

Augusta University

Purdue University

Robotics, Control, Automation

Coxon, Jade

Purdue University

University of Colorado at Boulder

Bioengineering

Dahm, Andrew

William Marsh Rice University

Purdue University

Mechanical Engineering

Deucher, Thomas

Purdue University

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Materials Science and Engineering

Dierking, William

Purdue University

Purdue University

Mechanical Engineering

Dor, Harel

California Institute of Technology

Purdue University

Computer Vision

Eksioglu, Deniz

Purdue University

Purdue University

Bioengineering

Freeman, Emmett

Purdue University

Georgia Institue of Technology

Mechanical Engineering

Hart, Katie

William Marsh Rice University

Purdue University

Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering

Jacobsen, Aidan

Purdue University

Purdue University

Information Engineering

Laudo, Joel

Purdue University

Columbia University

Mechanical Engineering

Packard, Jason S

Purdue University

Yale University

Materials Science and Engineering

Palka, Jenna

Purdue University

Purdue University

Civil Engineering

Pereira, Emilio

University of Central Florida

Purdue University

Mechanical Engineering

Petrucci, Nathan

Purdue University

Purdue University

Biomedical Engineering

Prakash, Jessica

University of California-Santa Cruz

Purdue University

Biomedical Engineering

Rzendzian, Erek

Purdue University

Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Mechanical Engineering

Tung, Michael

University of Florida

Purdue University

Communication and Information Theory

Wassgren, Benjamin

Purdue University

Purdue University

Mechanical Engineering

2026 NSF GRFP Honorable Mentions

Name

Baccalaureate Institution

Current Institution

Field of Study

Ault, Kathryn

Purdue University

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Chemical Engineering

Gaitonde, Anagha Sandeep

Purdue University

Purdue University

Bioengineering

Schoonmaker, Jenna L

Purdue University

  

Environmental and/or Ecological Engineering

Whitmer, Wyatt Daniel

Brigham Young University

Purdue University

Mechanical Engineering

For more information on the NSF GRFP, visit https://www.nsfgrfp.org/

To learn more about awards and recognition of Purdue’s Engineering graduate students, visit: https://engineering.purdue.edu/Engr/Academics/Graduate/CurrentGraduateStudents/Awards

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