Graduate student Brandon Burkhart, chemical biology, who is a member of Professor Doug Mitchell's lab was recently awarded a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation. This prestigious honor is awarded to outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines that are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions. The Mitchell lab is led by Doug Mitchell, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and a faculty member of the IGB in the Mining Microbial Genomes research theme.

One of the oldest graduate fellowship of its kind, the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) has a long history of selecting recipients who achieve high levels of success in their future academic and professional careers.  The reputation of the GRFP follows recipients and often helps them become life-long leaders that contribute significantly to both scientific innovation and teaching.  Past fellows include numerous Nobel Prize winners, U.S. Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu, Google founder, Sergey Brin and Freakonomics co-author, Steven Levitt.  

Fellows share in the prestige and opportunities that become available when they are selected.  Fellows benefit from a three-year annual stipend of $30,000 along with a $10,500 cost of education allowance for tuition and fees, opportunities for international research and professional development, and the freedom to conduct their own research at any accredited U.S. institution of graduate education they choose.

NSF Fellows are anticipated to become knowledge experts who can contribute significantly to research, teaching, and innovations in science and engineering. These individuals are crucial to maintaining and advancing the nation's technological infrastructure and national security as well as contributing to the economic well-being of society at large.