Seven students with ties to NAU received awards from the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), a competitive National Science Foundation program that funds graduate work in STEM disciplines at institutions throughout the country.
The five-year GRFP award provides an annual stipend, an education allowance and mentoring and networking opportunities, giving grad students the support they need to conduct high-impact research that isn’t tied to grant-funded projects.
Five current graduate students received the award, as did two students who recently graduated from NAU and are starting Ph.D. programs elsewhere:
- Hunter Brooks, a Ph.D. student at the University of Toledo who graduated from NAU in 2025 with a bachelor’s degree in astronomy and planetary science
- Henry Garland, a Ph.D. student at Yale University who received his bachelor’s degree in physics from NAU in 2025
- Anna Kang, a first-year master’s student in the Department of Biological Sciences
- Ivy Knudsen, a Ph.D. student in astronomy and planetary sciences
- Kayla Bobbitt (née Ramirez), a 2024 NAU graduate and current Ph.D. student in chemistry at Boston University
- Jackson Truitt, a Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering
- Marlee York, a Ph.D. student in informatics and computing
“GRFP awards are an incredible honor and vote of confidence in scientists at an early stage of their career,” said NAU Vice President for Research Jason Wilder. “Moreover, they have become increasingly competitive in recent years. We are so proud to have these talented students as members of the NAU community.”
Brooks graduated from NAU last May and is now a graduate student in physics and astronomy at the University of Toledo. While at NAU, his research focused on identifying dwarf and subdwarf stars in the solar system.
Garland, now a graduate student at NAU, received his bachelor’s degree from the university in December. As an undergraduate, Garland fell in love with solid-state physics and became particularly passionate about molecular beam epitaxy, a process used to build materials that help power computers, renewable energy grids and more.
Kang, a new master’s student in the Department of Biological Sciences, came to NAU after graduating from the University of Mississippi. Their interests span vector competence, disease ecology, microbiomes, ecophysiology and comparative immunology. They are passionate about investigating host-pathogen interactions, particularly the physiological and ecological factors that shape disease dynamics.
Knudsen, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science, came to NAU from the University of Colorado Boulder. Knudsen helps manage NAU’s part in the Research and Education Collaborative Occupation Network, a national citizen science research program dedicated to observing occultations, in which an asteroid passes in front of a background star. She’s also conducted research involving the Moon, Mars, Pluto and large-scale telescopic observations.
Bobbitt, who spent her undergraduate years at NAU, is now a Ph.D. student focused on synthetic and medicinal chemistry at Boston University. While at NAU, she was an Honors College student and served as president of the Heshima Bioethics Society. As an undergraduate research assistant in the Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Bobbitt studied different bacteria to understand how pathogens traveled and how to stop their spread in Arizona and beyond.
Truitt is a Ph.D. student in bioengineering at NAU. After graduating from Wichita State University, he came to the Biomechatronics Lab, where he works with associate professor Zach Lerner and other students to create wearable devices that improve mobility for people with muscular and skeletal disabilities.
York is a Ph.D. student in informatics and computing in the School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems at NAU. Her research focuses on using statistical and machine learning to better understand the patterns and drivers of carbon cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. She received her bachelor’s degree from George Washington University, where her research helped characterize the high-magnitude exchange of carbon during extreme climate events.
In addition to the GRFP winners, six NAU students and recent grads received honorable mentions for their GRFP applications:
- Claire Asmussen, a 2023 graduate in environmental science who now works as a biologist at CTL|Thompson in Denver
- Katie Breeland-Newcomb, a Ph.D. student in astronomy and planetary science
- Jack Kohm, a 2025 physics and astrophysics graduate who is now a graduate student at the University of Washington
- Aiden Kriel, a graduate student in astronomy and planetary science
- Margo Moceyunas, a Ph.D. student in astronomy and planetary science
- Ani Smith, a 2025 biomedical sciences graduate who is now pursuing her Ph.D. at Ohio University
Jill Kimball | NAU Communications
(928) 523-2282 | jill.kimball@nau.edu