Science and Engineering Scholarships and Fellowships Blog

University of Virginia Graduate Students Secure Esteemed NSF Fellowships

Justin Henriques, David Hondula and Isabelle Stanton are among a select group of 913 students nationwide who were awarded financial support through the NSF’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program.
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Justin Henriques, Systems and Information Engineering (Adviser: Garrick Louis)

Henriques, a master’s student in systems and information engineering, is working to create a decision support model to assist developing communities in determining appropriate and sustainable technologies to ensure safe drinking water and sanitation services. Henriques’ research will build on Capacity Factor Analysis, a systems analysis technique developed by his advisor, associate professor Garrick Louis. Since 1.1 billion people lack access to safe water, and over 2.4 billion lack access to safe sanitation services, this is a significant global challenge.
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• David Hondula, Environmental Sciences (Adviser: Robert Davis)

Hondula, a master’s student in atmospheric science in the Department of Environmental Sciences, is investigating the impacts of weather and climate on the respiratory health of residents of Washington, D.C. “I think one of the strengths of David’s proposal is that declining respiratory health is an emerging environmental problem,” said professor Robert Davis, Hondula’s adviser.

Hondula will examine the interrelationships between the many environmental causes of respiratory distress, including weather, pollution and pollen. “This is an important project because conditions like asthma and bronchitis are related to a wide variety of both indoor and outdoor factors,”
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• Isabelle Stanton, Computer Science (Adviser: Nina Mishra)

Doctoral candidate Isabelle Stanton’s computer science research is working to address privacy challenges brought on by online social networking – including interactions through instant messaging, e-mails, and Web sites like Facebook.

She is developing algorithms that allow representations, or social graphs, of who interacts with who to be released while still preserving user privacy. Stanton’s findings may have tremendous practical value in a wide variety of fields, from sociology to marketing.