14 Clemson students and alumni were recognized by the prestigious National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program — with eight receiving three years of financial support for graduate study in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and six earning honorable mentions, deemed as meriting an award if additional program funding becomes available. Recipients receive a $37,000 stipend and a full cost of education allowance, which covers their tuition and mandatory fees.
Clemson’s recipients are among 1,000 national awardees and 3,137 honorable mentions nationwide — marking the University’s highest percentage of annual graduate research fellowship award recipients over at least the last two decades.
“We’re so proud of our students and alumni recognized by the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program,” said Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Robert H. Jones. “Their hard work and passion for discovery reflect the strength of Clemson’s academic community and the incredible support of our faculty mentors. This recognition is a powerful reminder of the impact our students are already making in the world of STEM.”
The Graduate Research Fellowship Program supports outstanding students early in their graduate school careers based on their demonstrated potential for significant research achievements in science, technology, engineering and mathematics or in STEM education.
Student Recipients
Caroline Argenti, a biochemistry major, Honors student from Auburn, Alabama, is working to expand the field of nanotechnology with a focus on RNA (ribonucleic acid) therapeutics. Her research mentors are Jessica Larsen, an endowed associate professor of chemical engineering at Clemson University; Akinori Kuzuya, a chemistry and materials engineering professor at Kansai University in Japan; and Thomas Werfel and Adam Smith, associate professors of biomedical engineering at the University of Mississippi. Argenti is also a 2024 Goldwater Scholar. After she graduates, she plans to pursue a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Maggie Marte, a physics major and Honors student from Williamston, South Carolina, explores condensed matter physics. Her research mentors are Chad Sosolik, who chairs the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Clemson University, and Kasra Sardashti, an assistant professor of physics at the University of Maryland (previously Clemson University). Marte is also a 2024 Goldwater and Astronaut Scholar. After graduation, she will pursue a Ph.D. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Samantha McNabb, a biomedical engineering major from Strongsville, Ohio, is investigating the bioprinting capabilities of a novel cell-seeded bioink designed for use as a cardiac patch in diabetic cardiomyopathy disease modeling and myocardial infarction treatment. Her research mentors include professors of bioengineering Dan and Agneta Simionescu at Clemson University, as well as Josh Maxwell and Sang Jin Lee at Wake Forest University. Her previous accomplishments include a Summer Scholar position at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine. After graduating this spring, McNabb plans to pursue a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering through the joint Wake Forest University/Virginia Tech program.
Karen (Kay) Russi, an Honors biomedical engineering student from North Charleston, South Carolina, is working to determine gene targets for engineered nanoparticles that work synergistically with current glioblastoma treatments, improving their clinical translatability. Russi’s research mentors include Angela Alexander-Bryant, an associate professor in bioengineering at Clemson University, and Santiago Correa, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Columbia University. Previously, Russi was selected to complete a research fellowship at Columbia University in New York City. After she graduates, Russi plans to pursue a doctoral degree in biomedical engineering as a research fellow at the University of Virginia.
Michael Walters ’24, an electrical engineering Ph.D. student from Walhalla, South Carolina, explores energy systems of the future with digital twin technology by creating innovative, data-driven artificial intelligence-based modeling and simulation capabilities that will contribute to sustainable, resilient and efficient transformed clean electric power infrastructure. Walters is currently conducting his research as part of electrical and computer engineering professor Kumar Venayagamoorthy’s Real-Time Power and Intelligent Systems (RTPIS) Lab and has already published three research papers, with a fourth recently submitted for review. He hopes to build a career that allows him to advance knowledge and contribute to technological, social and economic development.
Cody Waters, a mathematical sciences major from Loris, South Carolina, explores the compactness of localized operators with a specific interest in classes of operators relevant to harmonic analysis such as Calderón-Zygmund and pseudodifferential operators. His research mentor is Cody Stockdale, an assistant professor in mathematical and statistical sciences. Water is also a 2024 Goldwater Scholar and was recently awarded the Dean’s Distinguished Graduate Fellowship in Arts and Sciences from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, where he plans to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics before pursuing a research career in harmonic analysis.
Alumni Recipients
Christine Hart ‘18, a biochemistry major and Honors student, explores the impact of global and anthropogenic changes on insect communities and how to address insect declines through research-based management solutions and equitable science education for K-12 students with language-based learning differences. She currently runs a small business providing educational support and consulting for students with learning disabilities and works part-time at Clemson’s Coastal Research and Education Center in a vegetable entomology lab run by Tom Bilbo, assistant professor of plant and environmental sciences. While at Clemson, she also worked in Clemson’s Morris Lab led by Meredith Morris, an assistant professor in genetics and biochemistry. In the future, she plans to use her graduate research fellowship to pursue a master’s and Ph.D. and work as a professor, with a goal of contributing to research on the impact of environmental change on insect populations and work with a diverse range of stakeholders to ameliorate insect declines.
Audrey Wessinger ‘24, a biomedical engineering major and Honors student from Charleston, South Carolina, investigates peptides as a delivery mechanism for CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing therapies. Her research mentors at Clemson included bioengineering faculty members Angela Alexander-Bryant, Jeremy Gilbert, Jeremy Mercuri and Jiro Nagatomi, as well as connections at the Tsumoto Lab at the University of Tokyo. Previous awards include a 2024 Goldwater scholarship. She plans to earn a Ph.D. in bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania and pursue a research career focused on drug delivery systems and translational medicine technologies.
Honorable Mentions
Benjamin Camper ’20 was a biological sciences major and Honors student at Clemson. He is currently leading a series of projects as a research specialist in Clemson’s Bewick Lab, leveraging clonal lizards to shed light on fundamental eco-evolutionary questions. He is also a semi-finalist for a Fulbright Study-Research grant to Ecuador. He plans to pursue a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology.
Natalie Claypool ’22, a National Scholar and Honors student who majored in Spanish language and international health at Clemson, is a research coordinator for the Infant Brain Imaging Study (IBIS) at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, executing infant MRI scans and developmental assessments to aid presymptomatic prediction of Autism Spectrum Disorder. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in psychology with a specialization in the intersection of childhood trauma and developmental disabilities.
Grayson Cliff ’24, a National Scholar and Honors student who majored in mechanical engineering, is working to advance thermal management and generation through dynamic origami structures. Cliff is pursuing his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering with the Webber Energy Group at the University of Texas at Austin.
Brooke Henry, an Honors student majoring in physics and math, explores condensed matter and materials physics. After she graduates, Henry plans to pursue a Ph.D. in physics, studying materials platforms for quantum computing.
Audreanna Miserendino, an Honors bioengineering major, explores HER2+ targeting peptide nanoparticles for the delivery of RNAi therapeutics to treat HER2+ breast cancer. After graduation, she plans to pursue a Ph.D. in pharmacoengineering at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Cooper Sanders ’23, was an electrical engineering major and Honors student at Clemson. He currently works as an application engineer at Cadence Design Systems. His goal is to realize the next paradigm of computing in industry by bridging the gap at the hardware design level between academic thought experiments and real-world hardware. He is pursuing a Ph.D. in electrical engineering at New York University starting this fall.
Alum honorees pursuing graduate degrees at other institutions include:
- Aniela Nozka ’23 (Fellowship Recipient), an Honors bioengineering and biomedical engineering major at Clemson, is pursuing a graduate degree at the University of Florida.
- Morgan Taylor Merriman ’22 (Honorable Mention), majored in physics and chemistry at Clemson and is pursuing graduate study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Students interested in NSF Graduate Research Fellowships or other nationally competitive programs should contact the Office of Major Fellowships at 864-656-9704 or fellowships@clemson.edu.
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