Travis Thornell, a 2^nd year PhD candidate in Materials Engineering, won a 2015 NSF Graduate Fellowship. This prestigious award provides full support for his stipend and tuition for up to 3 years during the remainder of his PhD studies. More information on the award is at the NSF website: 

http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=134647&WT.mc_id=USNSF_51&WT.mc_ev=click

Travis, who is advised by Prof. Kendra Erk, works on the synthesis and characterization of composite and self-healing polymer hydrogels. Hydrogels are an exciting branch of materials research and have far reaching implications. They may impact fields as diverse as biological applications in drug delivery to internal curing aids for concrete and structural applications.