Karson Brooks, second year graduate student working under the direction of Professor Jason Locklin, has won the 2014 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship award in the category of "macromolecular, supramolecular, and nanochemistry." Karson was one of only eleven UGA students to win an NSF fellowship this year, and the only graduate student in the Chemistry Department to do so. She is the first chemistry graduate student to win the award in many years. Karson graduated from the University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, where she accrued numerous academic accolades, was a member of several honor societies, and made the President’s List for eight consecutive semesters. In addition to extensive undergraduate research, she also served as a 3M Research Fellow at Pennsylvania State University. NSF Graduate Fellowships are among the most competitive graduate research fellowships, and are often awarded to individuals who go on to “become life-long leaders that contribute significantly to both scientific innovation and teaching,” such as former U.S. Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu, Google Founder Sergey Brin, and numerous Nobel Prize laureates. The award provides three years of financial support, including a stipend and education allowance, as well as professional development and international research opportunities. Only 2,000 fellowships were awarded from a pool of 14,000 applicants. It’s a great honor to include Karson among the many outstanding graduate students in our department.
