Purdue ME students selected for NSF Graduate Research Fellowships

Two students from Purdue University's School of Mechanical Engineering have been selected for the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP). Antonio Alvarez-Valdivia and Orlando G. Rivera Gonzalez are part of the 2022 class of GRFP Fellows. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions.

Fellowships provide the student with a three-year annual stipend of $34,000 along with a $12,000 cost of education allowance for tuition and fees (paid to the institution), as well as access to opportunities for professional development available to NSF-supported graduate students. Fellowships may only be used for an eligible graduate degree program at an academic institution accredited in, and having a campus located in, the US, its territories, possessions, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. NSF Fellows are anticipated to become knowledge experts who can contribute significantly to research, teaching, and innovations in science and engineering.

Antonio Alvarez-Valdivia

Antonio Alvarez-Valdivia is a 1st-year Ph.D student with Laura Blumenschein. His research focuses on soft robotics, soft haptic interfaces, and human-robot interaction. He completed his undergraduate degree at Iowa State University in 2021.

Orlando G. Rivera González

Orlando G. Rivera González is a PhD student co-advised by Justin Weibel and Xiulin Ruan in the Cooling Technologies Research Center. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez in 2020. He is working on a project that leverages the world's whitest paint for potential water harvesting.