2018-2019 Fellowship Recipients

The Graduate School congratulates the 2018-2019 Dean’s, UM, Maytag, McKnight, NSF, and the Dissertation Fellows.

fellow collage

The Graduate School is proud to announce the distinguished students who were awarded Dean’s Fellowships, University of Miami (UM) Fellowships, Maytag Fellowships, McKnight Fellowships, National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowships, and the Graduate School’s new Dissertation Fellowship. Congratulations to our 2018-2019 Fellows!

Dean’s Fellowship

The Dean's Fellowship provides recipients with two years of support and is the most prestigious award offered by the Graduate School. Nominees must be incoming first-year Ph.D. students in the areas of biological sciences, arts and humanities, physical sciences and social, behavioral & administrative sciences. 

  •  German Farinas Perez, Electrical and Computer Engineering

UM Fellowship

The UM Fellowship provides recipients with two years of support and is one of the highest awards offered by the Graduate School. Nominees must be incoming first-year Ph.D. students from any area of study.

  • Jerry Bonnell, Computer Science
  • Leah Davis Ewart, Prevention Science
  • Amanda DeLiberto, Marine Biology and Ecology
  • Tyler Fenske, Atmospheric Sciences
  • Stephen Hatch, Psychology
  • Samantha Hynes, Counseling Psychology
  • Bingjing Mao, Communication
  • Laura McDonnell, Environmental Science and Policy
  • Heidy Medina, Epidemiology
  • Nicholas Reich, English
  • Elizabeth Schell, Biology
  • Hong Weng Pang, Biomedical Sciences

Maytag Fellowship

The Maytag Fellowship, funded by an endowment from the Robert E. Maytag estate,  recognizes and supports promising researchers in the fields of biochemistry and molecular biology, biology, chemistry, physiology and biophysics, marine biology, molecular cell and developmental biology, marine and atmospheric chemistry, and psychology.

  • Molly Ream, Psychology
  • John Sebastiani, Marine Biology and Ecology

McKnight Fellowship

The McKnight Doctoral Fellowship program, funded by the Florida Education Fund, is designed to address the under-representation of African American and Hispanic faculty at colleges and universities in the state of Florida by increasing the pool of citizens qualified with Ph.D. degrees to teach at the college and university levels. Up to 50 Fellowships are awarded annually to African American or Hispanic students to attend one of nine participating Florida universities, including the University of Miami. Eligible fields of study include any field in the Arts and Sciences, Business, Engineering, Health Sciences, Nursing, or the Visual and Performing Arts.

  • Brandon Applewhite, Biomedical Engineering
  • Leah Davis Ewart, Prevention Science
  • Heidy Medina, Epidemiology
  • Caroline Velez, Chemistry

The Graduate School also congratulates Biology Ph.D. student, Stephanie Diaz, as the recipient of the McKnight Dissertation Fellowship, also awarded by the Florida Education Fund.

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)

The NSF GRFP recognizes outstanding students who are pursuing research-based graduate degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math. The GRFP provides three years of support to graduate students who have demonstrated their potential for significant achievements in these fields.

  • Lara Baez, Psychology
  • Anna Bakker, Marine Geosciences
  • Joshua Bowren, Computer Science
  • Kasey Kiesewetter, Biology
  • Daniel Rodriguez-Granrose, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
  • Joshua Wadler, Meteorology and Physical Oceanography

Dissertation Fellowship

The Graduate School’s new Dissertation Fellowship, launched for the 2018-2019 academic year, is awarded annually to one recipient in the final year of writing and defending the dissertation, without the obligation of a teaching, research, or graduate assignment. Nominees must be Ph.D./Ed.D./D.M.A. students who have been admitted to candidacy.

  • Brian Doherty, Chemistry