- Republished with permission of emagination, a School of Engineering electronic publication
Two engineering students have received prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships (NSF GRF): Erik Carboni, a doctoral candidate working in the laboratory of Dr. Anson Ma (Chemical, Materials & Biomolecular Eng.) and senior Brittany Nkounkou (Computer Science & Engineering), who will pursue a doctoral degree at Cornell University in fall 2012.
Erik’s work involves the delivery of drug molecules to cancerous tumors via the use of nanoparticles. 
In particular, he is interested in the effect of blood flow on the diffusion and delivery of anti-cancer drugs to the tumor site. Brittany, who is interested in programming languages, participated in UConn’s Bio-Grid NSF-sponsored Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program led by Dr. Chun-Hsi Huang and also conducted research with Dr. Yufeng Wu. NSF Graduate Research Fellows receive a three-year annual stipend $30,000 plus a yearly $12,000 cost-of-education allowance. In 2011, NSF awarded just 2,000 Fellowships from 12,000 applicants.