NSF Honors 13 Williams Students and Alumni

Media contact: Noelle Lemoine, executive assistant; tele: 413-597-4277; email: [email protected]

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., April 16, 2018—The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded research fellowships to nine Williams College students and alumni. In addition, the NSF has awarded honorable mentions to four Williams graduates. The NSF fellowships support graduate study in the natural and social sciences.

The nine Williams fellowship recipients are Gordon Bauer ’14, an engineering student at the University of California, Berkeley; Erin Curley ’15, a psychology student at Temple University; Dylan Freas ’16, a chemistry student at the California Institute of Technology; Nitsan Goldstein ’15, who studies neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania; Sumun Iyer ’18, who will study mathematics at Cornell University; William Kirby ’17, who will pursue graduate studies in physics at Tufts; Emily Levy ’13, who studies behavioral ecology at Duke University; Lucy Page ’16, who will pursue graduate studies in economics at MIT; and Carly Schissel ’16 who is studying chemistry at MIT.

Honorable mentions went to Peter Clement ’14, Rachel Essner ’16, Nina Horowitz ’14, and Ashwin Narayan ’16.

With support from the NSF Fellowship, Williams senior Sumun Iyer plans to explore her current research interests in dynamics and theoretical computer science at Cornell. An English and mathematics major from Cherry Hill, N.J., Iyer has conducted math research as part of the SMALL Undergraduate Research Project at Williams, as well as the REU summer program at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. At Williams, Iyer has also served as an active member of the student chapter of the Association of Women in Mathematics, which aims to make the math community more inclusive of and welcoming to members of underrepresented minorities in STEM. “I’m really grateful to receive this fellowship and excited to have as much time as possible to devote to research while I’m in graduate school,” Iyer says. She is currently writing a thesis on topology.

The National Science Foundation, an independent federal agency, was founded in 1950 to further U.S. leadership in the sciences. Since its inception it has supported graduate research and awards more than 1,000 research fellowships each year.

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Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second-oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college’s 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students’ educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions on U.S. applicants are made regardless of a student’s financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted.

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Published April 16, 2018