Celebrating excellence in our community

On October 23, 2025, the NEEP community came together to celebrate the many accomplishments of our staff, students, and faculty throughout the previous year. And what a great year it was!

58 of our undergraduate students were awarded scholarships and seven graduate students were granted new fellowships. We also celebrated a wide range of other student achievements: One of our graduate students was elected to the ANS Board of Directors, two published their first first-author papers, and two were invited to participate in NEA Global Forums.

Among our faculty, we have two new Kavli Fellows, one MacArthur Fellow, and one new American Physical Society Fellow. Three professors earned tenure, three received named professorships, one published a book, another was selected for Nuclear News’ “40 Under 40” list, and several others took on exciting new roles within the university and beyond.

While these awards are public recognitions of the pursuit of excellence that defines our department, we’re proud of the curiosity, leadership, compassion, and perseverance exhibited in our community every day. View the full list of awardees below.

Undergraduate STAR Scholarships

Carson Keim John and Cathleen Hockers STAR Scholarship
Xander Godar Ross and Michele Annable STAR Scholarship
Matthew Barrera David and Penelope McAlees STAR Scholarship
Freya Stratte David and Penelope McAlees STAR Scholarship
William Gergen Benjamin Longmier STAR Scholarship
Keyvan Pouladian-Kari Gasper Family STAR Scholarship
Tri Nguyen Guanacaste Ventures STAR Scholarship
Preston Onuselogu Guanacaste Ventures STAR Scholarship
Teresa Salazar Guanacaste Ventures STAR Scholarship

Internal Undergraduate Scholarships

Tessara Clark Andrew B. Johnson Great People Scholarship
Asher Jewell Charles Ringrose Scholarship
Hunter Olson Constellation Nuclear Engineering Scholarship
Eric Stoikes Constellation Nuclear Engineering Scholarship
Chase Stormoen Constellation Nuclear Engineering Scholarship
Francesca Verich Constellation Nuclear Engineering Scholarship
William Gergen David and Karen Evens Nuclear Engineering & Engineering Physics Scholarship
Erich Nunez Viveros Engineering Great People Scholarship Trust
Wyatt Garrett Frederick J. Mancheski Scholarship
William Gergen Frederick J. Mancheski Scholarship
Akira Willox Frederick J. Mancheski Scholarship
Ian Greis James Elko Memorial Scholarship
Freya Stratte James Elko Memorial Scholarship
Robert Schienebeck John W and Lenore L Landry Scholarship
Abigail McConnell M. M. El-Wakil Scholarship
Caleb Jatczak Max Carbon Scholarship
Tucker Peterson Max Carbon Scholarship
Keyvan Pouladian-Kari Max Carbon Scholarship
Walter Van Dyke Max Carbon Scholarship
Joshua Brendel NRC Scholarship
Eliot Ciuperca NRC Scholarship
Katarina Dries NRC Scholarship
Asher Jewell NRC Scholarship
Ryan Leung NRC Scholarship
Damek Mangum NRC Scholarship
Lincoln Ogren NRC Scholarship
Preston Onuselogu NRC Scholarship
Zachary Petersen NRC Scholarship
Caleb Rocha NRC Scholarship
Teresa Salazar NRC Scholarship
Robert Schienebeck NRC Scholarship
Freya Stratte NRC Scholarship
Nick Tierney NRC Scholarship
Peter Vasterling Paul H Thiele Scholarship
Sahishnu Duvvuri Gangadhara Sai Ruth Pugh Gifford Johnson University League Scholarship 
Kevin Bray Thomas F Plunkett Scholarship
Casey Brophey Thomas F Plunkett Scholarship
Gerson Esquivel Garcia Thomas F Plunkett Scholarship
Charlie Hansel Thomas F Plunkett Scholarship
Landon Kohler Thomas F Plunkett Scholarship
Tristan Lockert Thomas F Plunkett Scholarship
Maddie Oswald Thomas F Plunkett Scholarship
Sophia Wambold Thomas F Plunkett Scholarship
Matthew Barrera Freshman Scholarship in the NEEP Department
William Brandt Freshman Scholarship in the NEEP Department
Sophia Caracci Freshman Scholarship in the NEEP Department
Xander Godar Freshman Scholarship in the NEEP Department
Lorelai Haase Freshman Scholarship in the NEEP Department
Chloe Johnson Freshman Scholarship in the NEEP Department
Carson Keim Freshman Scholarship in the NEEP Department
Brett Mackay Freshman Scholarship in the NEEP Department
Miti Patel Freshman Scholarship in the NEEP Department
Coal Smith Freshman Scholarship in the NEEP Department
Joseph Wang Freshman Scholarship in the NEEP Department
Sophia Ayer Freshman Scholarship in the NEEP Department (Renewal)
Jack Hintermeister Freshman Scholarship in the NEEP Department (Renewal)
Caleb Jatczak Freshman Scholarship in the NEEP Department (Renewal)
Aidan Lepien Freshman Scholarship in the NEEP Department (Renewal)
Keyvan Pouladian-Kari Freshman Scholarship in the NEEP Department (Renewal)
Ridley Walters Freshman Scholarship in the NEEP Department (Renewal)
Katie Duffy Dorothy Marshall to honor Charles J Marshall Frawley Scholarship (Renewal) 
Lincoln Ogren Dorothy Marshall to honor Charles J Marshall Frawley Scholarship (Renewal) 
Zachary Petersen Dorothy Marshall to honor Charles J Marshall Frawley Scholarship (Renewal)
Matthew Schaefer Dorothy Marshall to honor Charles J Marshall Frawley Scholarship (Renewal)
Katarina Dries George P Ryan Class of 1922 Scholarships (Renewal)
Marcus Dixon Transfer Student Scholarship (Renewal)

External Undergraduate Scholarships

Katarina Dries ANS Undergraduate Scholarship
Asher Jewell ANS Undergraduate Scholarship
Joshua Brendel University Nuclear Leadership Program Scholarship

Graduate Scholarships and Fellowships

Gabe Dengler-Jeanblanc UNLP Graduate Fellowship
Isabella Wood UNLP Graduate Fellowship
Nick Crnkovich NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunities
William Minnette NSF GRFP
Smeet Patel NSF GRFP
Riley Trendler NSF GRFP
Riley Trendler ANS Graduate Scholarship
Julia Marshall IAEA Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship

Other Graduate Student Recognitions

Raphaelle David Three Minute Thesis Competition Finalist
Raphaelle David Invited to the Young Professionals Programme of the NEA Global Forum Symposium
Ethan Fowler First First-Author Publication
Julia Marshall Elected to the American Nuclear Society Board of Directors
Abdullah Masri First First-Author Publication
Jessica Wysocki Invited to the NEA Global Forum Rising Stars Workshop
Michael Zepp Second Best Poster Award in Low Temperature Plasmas

Faculty Recognitions

Juliana Pacheco Duarte Tenure Promotion
Benedikt Geiger Tenure Promotion
Yongfeng Zhang Tenure Promotion
Benedikt Geiger Grainger Institute of Engineering Associate Professor
Charlie Hirst Steven J. and Teresa M. Zinkle Nuclear Materials Assistant Professor
Kumar Sridharan Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor
Adelle Wright Co-authored An Introduction to Stellarators: From Magnetic Fields to Symmetries and Optimization
Stephanie Diem 2025 Kavli Fellow
Juliana Duarte 2025 Kavli Fellow
Stephanie Diem College of Engineering Inclusive Excellence in Engineering Award
Ben Lindley Selected for Nuclear News’ 40 Under 40 List
Sebastien Philippe 2025 MacArthur Fellow 
Sebastien Philippe Appointed to UN Independent Scientific Panel on the Effects of Nuclear War
Oliver Schmitz 2025 American Physical Society Fellow
Oliver Schmitz Associate Dean for Corporate Engagement and Entrepreneurship

Community Recognitions

Mohammad Amer Allaf GSAC Award for Outstanding Mentorship by a Postdoctoral Fellow
Eva Davenport The We-Couldn’t-Do-This-Without-You Award: For simultaneously coordinating visits for over 20 prospective graduate students and 9 candidates for 3 different faculty positions as well as helping 60 first year students with purchasing for their first-year design course.
Jessica Wysocki Outstanding Contribution to Community Award: For her instrumental efforts in restarting the NEEP Graduate Student Association.