Apr 13, 2023 / Announcements, SAFS News, Student Spotlight

Graduate student-led GRFP workshop announces 5 awardees this year

Now in its 12th year of being held at SAFS, a workshop led by graduate students to support applicants for the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is celebrating the successful award to five students this year.

The NSF GRFP aims to ensure the quality, vitality, and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the US and broaden participation in science and engineering of underrepresented groups. Highly sought after, only about 2,000 out of 12,000 applicants are successful in obtaining awards each year.

This year from within the UW College of the Environment, the five awardees are:

Emily pulls up a gill net to sample near-shore fish on Lake Wilderness.

Founded as a course by former SAFS graduate students Meryl Mims and Lauren Kuehne, and professor Jim Seeb, the course developed into a workshop in 2012 led by Meryl Mims, Lauren Kuehne, Emma Hodgson and Margaret Siple. The framework for the workshop which focuses on grant and fellowship proposal writing was published as a peer-reviewed article by these four grad student founders in 2016.

The workshop has been held every year since 2012, with each year building upon elements to make it a useful tool for applicants, including info sessions, polls on research ideas, and mentors relevant to each research topic. In more recent years, the workshop has been continued by Kristin Privitera-Johnson and Erica Escajeda (SAFS), Sam May (SAFS) and Mary Fisher (SAFS/SEFS), and the current coordinators, Helena McMonagle and Markus Min (SAFS). The workshop has expanded to SEFS and SMEA participants and mentors, and last year was extra special with an outside mentor joining from NOAA.

Sriram at a collaborative fieldsite in Eastern Washington, taking root samples from a Populus plant for microbiome analysis. Sriram will be taking the NSF GRF to Cornell’s department of Horticulture for his MS and PHD.

Kicking off with spring info sessions, students are polled over the summer about what research ideas they have for the GRFP proposal, allowing them to be paired with a mentor doing similar work. The workshop itself runs from September to October. Part of the mentorship process is a brainstorming discussion about proposal ideas and tips on CV writing. A panel discussion with former GRFP awardees also facilitates a useful exchange where current applicants can find out what has worked for others.

The workshop presents a fantastic opportunity for both intra- and inter-department community building and networking, with speakers including Chelsea Wood presenting tips on letters of recommendations, and Mark Scheuerell about writing compelling personal statements and research plans.

Ending with an NSF-style review session, this final step is a speed review session simulating how proposals might be assessed and students benefit from feedback from multiple mentors on their full application.

The whole process is collaborative and relies on people willing to volunteer their time in SAFS, SEFS, and SMEA. One of the key aims of the workshop is to make the application process as equitable and accessible as possible, so join us in spreading the word about it to anyone who is interested.

Check out our events calendar for future info sessions

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