Bagley College students earn NSF graduate fellowships
June 9, 2015
From L-R: Janice Cunningham, Timothy McGrath, and Tiffany Heaster
STARKVILLE, Miss. – The National Science Foundation has awarded three Bagley College graduates one of its most prestigious graduate fellowships.
Janice Cunningham, Tim McGrath and Tiffany Heaster are among 2,000 of the more than 16,500 applicants chosen for the NSF’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program. Each will receive more than $30,000 annually for research and an additional annual tuition allowance of more than $10,000.
“I am tremendously excited to see these students from the Bagley College of Engineering receive such prestigious fellowships. I am especially proud of the accomplishments of these students and the faculty who have supervised them in the lab,” said dean Jason Keith.
Cunningham works with her adviser C. LaShan Simpson as a teaching and research assistant in the agricultural and biological engineering department. Her research evaluates how hands-on, active-based learning affects retention in different engineering disciplines.
Before enrolling at Mississippi State, Cunningham graduated from Kaiserslautern High School in Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. Her father Alexander is a veteran of the U.S. Army, and her mother Monica is German. She says that family is the driving force behind her academic success.
“My parents have always encouraged me to challenge myself and do my very best,” Cunningham said. “As a first-generation college student I believed that education would be my pathway to success. Getting this award is confirmation that I am on the right track and that all of my hard work is paying off.”
The former Tillman Military Scholar earned a bachelor’s in biological engineering and will complete a master’s in biomedical engineering from Mississippi State University in August. She plans to pursue a doctorate in engineering education at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
McGrath graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering and a concentration in astronautics. He plans to pursue a doctoral degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to continue his research on wearable technology for space travel. The goal of his research is to enable humans to successfully travel to and explore Mars.
The Slidell, Louisiana, native has gained industry experience by working with companies such as NASA, Space Exploration Technologies and Lockheed Martin. McGrath was a member and project manager of the award-winning Space Cowboys rocket design team and won first place for his presentation on the project at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics competition in 2012.
Throughout his time at MSU, McGrath has maintained a 4.0 GPA and participated in several on-campus organizations. He says that receiving this competitive award reaffirms that his hard work was worthwhile.
“I’ve really enjoyed my time at Mississippi State and have worked diligently to make the most of it,” McGrath said. “This honor marks the culmination of years of that effort, and I’m really happy to have been surrounded by people at MSU who have brought out the best in me.”
McGrath graduated from Northshore High School and is the son of Tim and Cheryl McGrath.
Heaster earned a bachelor’s degree in biological engineering with a concentration in biomedical engineering from MSU in May 2014. She is pursuing a doctoral degree in biomedical engineering at Vanderbilt University. With plans to work in cancer diagnostics, her research focuses on biophotonics and cancer immunotherapeutics.
In addition to research and engineering, Heaster also enjoys sharing her interests and experiences with others, especially children. Through networking and other resources, she looks forward to the outreach opportunities the NSF fellowship will provide throughout her career.
As she focuses on the future, Heaster says she will always remember the significance of her engineering degree from Mississippi State.
“I’m incredibly thankful that all my time and support while at MSU provided a great foundation to earn this achievement and other successes in my career,” Heaster said.
Heaster attended D’Iberville High School in D’Iberville, Mississippi, and is the daughter of Tim and Yen Heaster.
The NSF’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognizes graduate students who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in science and engineering disciplines. In addition to academic requirements, the NSF fellowship program also asks applicants to write two original essays including a complete research proposal.
For more information about the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships, visit www.nsfgrfp.org.
More information about the Bagley College of Engineering can be found at www.bagley.msstate.edu.
By: Erin Boozer Zimmer