Presidential and graduate fellowships announced

Fifty-three College of Engineering students have been awarded presidential and graduate fellowships for the 2025–2026 academic year. These prestigious awards provide financial support for some of Carnegie Mellon’s top students in their studies and research.

Claire and John Bertucci Fellowship in Engineering

Established by Claire R. (MM 1965) and John R. (ENG 1963, TPR 1965) Bertucci in 2006, this fund provides merit fellowships to graduate students pursuing doctoral degrees in engineering.

• Colin Ancalmo, Mechanical Engineering
• Sarah Birchall, Materials Science Engineering
• Camila Cue, Chemical Engineering
• Crestienne DeChaine, Materials Science Engineering
• Hailey Hall, Materials Science Engineering
• Melanie Huq, Engineering and Public Policy
• Jingyan Li, Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Seongeun Park, Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Daniel Pert, Chemical Engineering
• Corrinne Smith-Lewis, Mechanical Engineering
• Emerson Uhlig, Chemical Engineering
• Daniel Ovalle Varela, Chemical Engineering

Phillips and Huang Family Fellowship in Energy

Established by Michael S. Phillips (ENG 1982) and his wife, Caroline B. Huang, in 2013 to support College of Engineering doctoral students researching energy innovation.

• Bashu Aman, Mechanical Engineering
• Tamar Moss, Engineering and Public Policy

Ronald F. and Janice A. Zollo Fellowship

Established by Ronald F. Zollo, Ph.D. (ENG 1963, 1966, 1971), in 2017 to support graduate students in the College of Engineering, with preference for students whose research is related to neuroscience or neuroengineering.

• Martin Goessweiner, Biomedical Engineering

Neil and Jo Bushnell Fellowship in Engineering

Established by Dr. Michael L. Bushnell (ENG 1983, 1986) in 2008 to support graduate students in engineering, with a preference for doctoral students working in nanotechnology or electronic materials.

• Shravan Godse, Mechanical Engineering
• Tianyi Huang, Mechanical Engineering
• Ellen Otto, Biomedical Engineering
• Mihailo Rancic, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Maggie and Bob Gregory Endowed Engineering Fellowship

Established by Margaret E. Gregory (ENG 1961) in 2020 to support graduate students in the College of Engineering, with a preference for students who have demonstrated a commitment to the advancement of women in the field of engineering.

• Carolina Colombo Tedesco, Chemical Engineering

Liang Ji-Dian Fellowship

Established in 1980 by Ting-Lung Liang in honor of his father to support graduate students in the College of Engineering.

• Hua Tong, Mechanical Engineering
• Jason Yao, Chemical Engineering
• Jiangyifei Zhu, Electrical and Computer Engineering

David Barakat and LaVerne Owen-Barakat Fellowship

Established by David H. Barakat (ENG 1968) and LaVerne Owen-Barakat in 2013 to support graduate students in the College of Engineering.

• Nayesha Gandotra, Mechanical Engineering
• Orkun Irsoy, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Bradford and Diane Smith Fellowship in Engineering

Established by Bradford L. (ENG 1969) and Diane J. Smith (DC 1971) in 2010 to support doctoral students in the College of Engineering.

• Leia Jiang, Biomedical Engineering
• Shidhartho Roy, Biomedical Engineering

ATK-Nick G. Vlahakis Fellowship

Established in 2003 by the ATK Foundation in honor of Nick G. Vlahakis (ENG 1974), this fund provides support for master's degree candidates in mechanical engineering, electrical and computer engineering, or materials science and engineering, or to students pursuing a joint MBA/B.S. in engineering within the aforementioned departments.

• Holly Chen, Mechanical Engineering
• Zachary Kushnir, Mechanical Engineering
• Junil Min, Mechanical Engineering

Presidential Fellowship

The College of Engineering recognizes high-achieving Ph.D. students with a Presidential Fellowship, covering an entire year of tuition.

• Joel Disu, Biomedical Engineering
• Miaosi Dong, Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Zhixiong Li, Mechanical Engineering
• Catalina Montoya, Biomedical Engineering
• Tejus Surendran, Biomedical Engineering
• Yi Yang, Materials Science Engineering

Wei Shen and Xuehong Zhang Presidential Fellowship

Established by Wei Shen and Xuehong Zhang in 2019 to provide fellowship support for graduate students enrolled in electrical and computer engineering. Wei Shen and Xuehong Zhang are parents of Chen Shen (ENG 2022).

• Artharva Raut, Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Zhaoyi Zhou, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Richard King Mellon Foundation Presidential Fellowship in Energy

Established by the Richard King Mellon Foundation in 2014 to support outstanding graduate students who conduct energy research.

• Ian Martin, Chemical Engineering
• Haoran Ni, Materials Science and Engineering

Ruth Furman Miller and David H. Miller Presidential Fellowship in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Established by Ruth Furman Miller (MM 1942) through her estate to support graduate students enrolled in the College of Engineering's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

• Maximiliano Larrain Silva, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Thomas and Maria Fok Presidential Fellowship in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Established by Thomas D.Y. Fok, Ph.D. (ENG 1956) in 2017 to support graduate students enrolled in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

• Abias Nabimanya, Civil and Environmental Engineering

CyLab Presidential Fellow

CyLab Security and Privacy Institute recognizes high-achieving Ph.D. students pursuing security and/or privacy-related research with a CyLab Presidential Fellowship, covering an entire year of tuition.

• Elijah Bouma-Sims, Software and Societal Systems
• Hao-Ping (Hank) Lee, Human-Computer Interaction
• Terrance Liu, Machine Learning
• Alexandra Nisenoff, Software and Societal Systems
• Hugo Sadok, Computer Science
• Rose Silver, Computer Science
• Taro Tsuchiya, Software and Societal Systems

Heinz Endowments-Lowell Steinbrenner Presidential Graduate Fellowship in Sustainability Science

Established in 2014 through a combination of support from the Heinz Endowments, the Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education and Research (SEER) and CMU, this fund is a tribute to Lowell Steinbrenner, a pioneer of environmental education and research, and recognizes outstanding graduate students with exceptional potential to make an impact in sustainability science over the course of their careers.

• Nana Oye Ndaase Djan, Engineering and Public Policy

K&L Gates Presidential Fellowship

Established in 2016 by K&L Gates, LLP to support graduate students whose studies relate to the field of ethics and computational science and technology, and who are enrolled in programs leading to a Ph.D. degree at CMU.

• Che-Yu Lin, Civil and Environmental Engineering

TCS Presidential Fellowship

Established in 2015 by Tata Consultancy Services Limited to support graduate students enrolled at Carnegie Mellon University.

• Mangalam Sahai, Mechanical Engineering

James Sprague Presidential Fellowship

Established by James Sprague (ENG 1909) to provide support to graduate students enrolled in the College of Engineering.

• Hanjiang Hu, Electrical and Computer Engineering