UMD_CMNS_Physics_S1_CMYK

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Sonja Hakala, Yash Anand and Nathan Constantinides are among 22 current students and recent graduates of the University of Maryland’s College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences (CMNS) to receive prestigious 2026 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowships, which recognize outstanding graduate students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Since 2014, 174 current students and recent alums from CMNS have been awarded NSF Graduate Research Fellowships. 

This year’s awardees are:

  • Anirud Aggarwal (B.S. ’25, computer science; B.S. ’25, mathematics)
  • Yash Anand (B.S. ’25, physics; B.S. ’25, mathematics), Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Vatsal Baherwani (B.S. ’25, computer science), New York University
  • Hannah Cairo, Ph.D. student in mathematics
  • Nathan Constantinides (B.S. ’25, computer science), senior physics major
  • Owen Deen, Ph.D. student in applied mathematics and statistics, and scientific computation
  • Darsh Gandhi, Ph.D. student in applied mathematics and statistics, and scientific computation
  • Sonja Hakala (B.S. ’24, physics)
  • Erin Hopper, computer science and mathematics double-degree student
  • Theodore Hsiao (B.S. ’25, computer science), senior bioengineering major
  • Jeremy Kuznetsov (B.S. ’25, mathematics), senior aerospace engineering major, Princeton University
  • Pauline Lawrence, Ph.D. student in marine estuarine environmental sciences
  • Siobhan Light (B.S. ’23, geology; B.S. ’23, astronomy), University of California, Santa Cruz
  • Gary Peng, computer science and mathematics double-degree student
  • Savannah Phillips, computer science and mathematics double-degree student
  • Rishi Pradeep (B.S. ’25, computer science and mathematics)
  • Samantha Smith (B.S. ’22, biochemistry), University of California, Berkeley
  • Pablo Stilwell, Ph.D. student in entomology
  • Yujing Tang, Ph.D. student in mathematics
  • Lani Tran (B.S. ’24, neuroscience; B.S. ’24, philosophy), University of Pennsylvania
  • Isha Vashee (B.S. ’24, biochemistry)
  • Eric Xu, computer science major

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program helps ensure the quality, vitality and strength of the United States' scientific and engineering workforce. The five-year fellowships provide three years of financial support, including an annual stipend of $37,000.

Since 1952, NSF has funded over 70,000 Graduate Research Fellowships out of more than 500,000 applicants. More than 40 Fellows have gone on to become Nobel laureates, and more than 450 have become members of the National Academy of Sciences.