May 27, 2026 MS&E PhD student Christopher Blackwell selected for DOE Graduate Research Program Written By: Jason Daley Departments: Materials Science & Engineering Categories: Awards|Graduate|Grants|Students The Department of Energy Office of Science has selected Christopher Blackwell, a PhD student in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, for the 2026 class of its prestigious Graduate Research Program. The program selects highly qualified graduate students pursuing research projects that address critical energy challenges at national and international scales. It allows them to pursue their thesis research for up to one year while working at one of the United States’ national laboratories. Christopher Blackwell Blackwell will pursue his research at the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) in Golden, Colorado, where he will work with Andrew Ferguson, a research scientist in the NLR Chemistry and Nanoscience Center. At UW-Madison, Blackwell studies carbon nanotubes and photovoltaics with his advisor Michael Arnold, the Beckwith-Bascom Professor in materials science and engineering. In particular, part of his thesis examines how trions, a type of excited state in carbon nanotubes, can help turn light into electricity, similar to solar panels. In Colorado, he will use the laboratory’s advanced instruments to look at the formation and movement or trions and how they interact with other materials. Blackwell says this program is the ideal next step in his training. “I’m very seriously considering a career in the national labs, so this chance for a ‘test run’ is extremely valuable,” he says. “Research-wise, my last study of trions left a lot of questions unanswered. There were too many unknowns about trions to draw many firm conclusions. This program is my chance to fix that and put a bow on this chapter of my studies.” This year, the Department of Energy selected graduate students from 55 universities in 27 states for the program. Anthony Carlos Garcia, a graduate student in the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics at UW-Madison, was also selected for the award and will study at Idaho National Laboratory.