Seven Middlebury graduates selected for NSF research fellowships

MIDDLEBURY, Vt.—The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently announced the results of its 2010 competition for graduate research fellowships, and Middlebury College alumni received seven awards, and one honorable mention.

The NSF’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in science, technology, engineering, social science, and mathematics who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in the U.S. and  abroad. NSF anticipates that fellows will contribute significantly to research, teaching, and innovations in science and  engineering.

The Middlebury 2010 NSF Graduate Fellows

(with class year, major at Middlebury, graduate institution and research interest)

Peter Alvaro ‘97, English (University of California-Berkeley: Computers/Information Studies/English, Database Information Retrieval and Web Search)

Rebecca  Hewitt ‘05, Environmental Studies/Conservation Biology (University of Alaska: Life Sciences-Ecology)

Christopher Lizotte ‘07, History of Art & Architecture, Geography (University of Washington: Geography)

Michelle Personick ‘09, Chemistry (Northwestern University: Inorganic Chemistry)

Adele Plunkett ‘09, Physics (Yale University: Astronomy)

Julia  Schwartzman ‘09, Molecular Biology & Biochemistry (University of Wisconsin-Madison: Life Sciences-Microbiology)

Adam Swick ‘06, Molecular Biology & Biochemistry (University of Wisconsin-Madison: Life Sciences-Virology)

2010 Honorable Mention

Lisa Zaval ‘07, Neuroscience (Columbia University: Cognitive Psychology)

You can find out more about the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program at the program’s Web site.