Posted on: May 1, 2020
By Maddox McKibben-Greene
This year, six current University of South Carolina students and recent alumni and
one incoming graduate student were awarded the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF GRFP), and an additional four students were named Honorable Mentions. The financial support
from the NSF will allow them to focus their time and energy on their classes and research
in a wide range of fields, including marine science, geology and biochemistry.
Current South Carolina senior Sarah Beth Pye, incoming graduate student Maina Handmaker,
current graduate student Annie Klyce and UofSC alumni Akilah Alwan, Casey Brayton,
Richard Brokaw and Leon Tran have been announced as 2020 NSF GRFP Fellows. Four UofSC
alumnae – Alexis Bantle, Lindsey Guerin, Emily Hardin and Krystyn Kibler – were selected
for Honorable Mentions in this prestigious graduate fellowship competition.
Each year, the National Science Foundation (NSF) provides funding through the graduate
research fellowships program (GRFP) to promising graduating seniors, recent graduates
and graduate students early in their careers.
Sarah Beth Pye, a senior at UofSC graduating with a degree in biochemistry and molecular
biology and French, has conducted research in Dr. Maksymilian Chruszcz’s lab focusing
on drug research to combat antibiotic-resistant pathogens. In the fall, Pye will attend
Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, to begin her Ph.D. studies in molecular
microbiology and microbial pathogenesis. In addition to this prestigious award, Pye
received a Magellan Scholar Research Grant in 2018 and was named a Goldwater Scholar
in 2019.
“It means a lot to me to have the added support as I start my graduate studies, since
I will be moving to a new city and getting settled there,” Pye says. “It is also exciting
to have the recognition associated with this award ,as so many significant scientific
contributors before me have been awarded the NSF GRFP.”
In addition to her research, Pye plays the double bass in the university orchestra
and competes as a member of the Charles Towne Independent Winter Guard. She has also
served as a resident mentor (RM) for three years, assisting first-year students in
the Honors Residence hall and students living on the Historic Horseshoe.
Annie Klyce, a graduate of Appalachian State University with a bachelor’s degree in
geology, will continue her study in the field and pursue a Ph.D. at UofSC. Klyce’s
current research focuses on training spatial skills in undergraduate students to see
it this has any effect on their confidence and success in future STEM courses. As
a female first-generation college student in STEM, one of her biggest goals through
her research is to increase accessibility in STEM fields.
“While applying for the GRF, I realized how much I love what I'm doing. I think it's
incredibly common for us to not think we're where we belong or doing exactly what
we should be,” Klyce says. “But throughout this application process, I realized that
I was excited about every component of my project. I'm so grateful to have found and
to be a part of a field that I'm so passionate about.”
Nationally, there were approximately 13,000 applicants for this year’s NSF GRFP competition.
There were 2,076 applicants selected as NSF Graduate Research Fellows and 1,827 applicants
who received honorable mentions.
Among this year’s NSF GRFP winners is Maina Handmaker, an incoming UofSC graduate
student. Handmaker attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, where she graduated
in 2011 with degrees in environmental studies as visual art. Throughout her application
process, Handmaker worked closely with Dr. Nathan Senner in the Department of Biological
Sciences and will come to South Carolina to study whimbrel, a species of migratory
shorebird.
“I will be tracking whimbrel movements during and after their spring stopover on the
coast of South Carolina using miniature GPS tags. This will help us investigate how
individuals select foraging and roosting sites and better understand how those choices
influence their entire annual cycle,” Handmaker says.
Akilah Alwan, a second-time NSF GRFP applicant, was surprised at how much her application
improved in a year.
“While I had some idea of what I wanted to do as an undergrad, I wasn't heavily rooted
in the theoretical frameworks of my research,” Alwan says. “That was the only negative
feedback I got in my first round of reviews, so I took the year between applications
to ground myself in the theory, and it paid off.”
Alwan’s current research focuses on personal narratives from black geoscientists about
how they persist in a predominantly white field, a project Alwan was inspired to take
on from her experience as the first African American female graduate student in the
geosciences department at Auburn University.
“Being a GRFP Scholar means opportunity to me. Because there is such a large under-representation
of black geoscientists, my research requires me to travel to meet people,” Alwan says.
“I now have the opportunity to do some in depth in person interviews, which I could
not afford without the GRFP. It also means that I no longer have to worry about providing
for myself and can focus solely on my graduate studies.”
Alwan and Handmaker share a passion for art, and when not conducting research, they
can be found being creative and devoting time to their creative pursuits. Handmaker
creates one-of-a-kind projects using her letterpress, which is 108 years old and powered
by foot pedal. Alwan enjoys sewing and embroidering, and even has built her own business
out of her art.
“My craft room is my happy place where I go to escape from all the pressures of the
day,” Alwan says.
Casey Brayton, a 2019 UofSC graduate who studied marine science, is a current AmeriCorps
volunteer residing in Anchorage, Alaska, working as a climate resilience coordinator
with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium’s Center for Environmentally Threatened
Communities. Through the NSF GRFP, Brayton will study marine ecosystem changes and
glacial isostatic adjustment for Greenland to provide better estimates for coastal
changes as the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) melts. Her research is part of the NSF
Navigating the New Arctic’s Greenland Rising project at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.
“I want to incorporate traditional knowledge and community knowledge into my geoscience
research as a career goal. That is partially why I chose to study Greenland over Antarctica,”
Brayton says. “Natives and other people who have lived in an area for years observe
more of the local environment than a researcher who comes in for a few weeks every
year to do fieldwork, and that is valuable information for understanding how environments
are changing with climate change.”
Brayton has previously won several fellowships, including the Truman and Goldwater
awards in 2018 as well Udall and Hollings awards in 2017.
Richard Brokaw, another graduate of UofSC’s marine science program, will pursue his
master’s degree in the field at UofSC as well. His previous research has focused on
the Gulf of Mexico loop current.
“I have studied how this loop current can redistribute Mississippi River waters throughout
the Gulf of Mexico and export them to the Atlantic Ocean through connection with the
Gulf Stream. I have also investigated eddies (rotating pockets of currents) in the
Gulf of Mexico, looking at their surface properties and vertical structure throughout
the water column,” Brokaw says.
Like most of this year’s NSF GRFP fellows, Brokaw enjoys being outside. He has also
played on UofSC’s ultimate frisbee team.
Leon Tran, a UofSC alum who is pursuing his master’s degree in marine biology at the
University of Hawaii, is conducting research concerning tropical fish and how environmental
changes such as climate change have affected them.
“The unprecedented rate of climate change is projected to have important consequences
for life in the oceans, of which fish are no exception,” Tran says. “My research looks
at the sensitivity of fish to changes in temperature and oxygen level when they're
preparing to reproduce since this may make them particularly sensitive to such environmental
changes.”
In addition to the NSF GRFP, Tran was named a NOAA Hollings Scholar in 2016. He credits
much of his success to the support of mentor Dr. Jennifer Pournelle, of UofSC’s School
of the Earth, Ocean, and Environment.
This year’s NSF GRFP winners share a feeling of excitement and honor, as being chosen
for this award affirms their research pursuits, hard work and highly competitive academic
profiles.
“Receiving the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship almost feels too good to be true,”
Handmaker says. “It feels like the transition between dreaming of becoming a biologist
to actually beginning to work as one.”
These students were supported by National Fellowships and Scholar Programs, along with the support and guidance from a committee of faculty chaired by Michael Matthews (chemical engineering) and including Reginald Bain (music), Carol Boggs (earth and ocean sciences), Leigh D’Amico (education) Sharon DeWitte (anthropology), Jochen Lauterbach (chemical engineering), Howie Scher (earth and ocean sciences), Todd Shaw (political science), Jeff Twiss (biology and neuroscience) and Hans-Conrad zur Loye (chemistry and biochemistry).
