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Six UMass Amherst students have been awarded Graduate Research Fellowships from the U.S. National Science Foundation. Nine additional students received an Honorable Mention in the competition.

The program recognizes and supports outstanding students who are pursuing research-based graduate degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

NSF Graduate Research Fellows for 2026-27:

• MJ Ingmanson, graduate student, anthropology
• Christopher Kniss, graduate student, electrical and computer engineering
• Elise Polizzi, undergraduate, electrical engineering and physics
• Melissa Rymaszewski, graduate student, Earth, geographic and climate sciences
• Aaron Zhengyuan Tian, undergraduate, computer science and mathematics  
• Kaisa Elisabeth Almén Whittaker, graduate student, Earth, geographic and climate sciences

Honorable mentions:

• Riley Cole, undergraduate, civil engineering 
• Nathaniel Kerman, graduate student, astronomy
• Emily Larkin, graduate student, molecular and cellular biology
• Emme Leao, graduate student, chemistry
• Akshitha Maqtedar, graduate student, molecular and cellular biology
• Kathryn McGillivray, undergraduate, biology
• Milo Van Mooy, undergraduate, physics
• Mikayla Newbrey, graduate student, organismic and evolutionary biology
• Elena Schell, graduate student, kinesiology

Nine UMass Amherst alumni have also received fellowships. 

Fellowships provide the student with a three-year annual stipend of $37,000, along with a $12,000 allowance for tuition and fees that is paid to the institution.

The next application period will open in summer 2026. Current UMass undergraduates planning to attend graduate school beginning in Fall 2027, as well as graduate students who will begin their graduate program in Fall 2026, are eligible to apply.

Students interested in applying or faculty seeking more information may contact Heidi Bauer-Clapp in the Graduate School Office of Professional Development at [email protected].