Congratulations to Shaye Palagi,
Recipient of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program!
The National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship provides funding to research-oriented Masters and PhD students who demonstrate potential to contribute to the strength of U.S. science and engineering.
"I was very humbled to receive the award and I am by no means an expert on the process. The NSF GRFP is highly competitive and I've been rejected before. On top of always trying to deepen my professional and research experiences, this year I began the essay with a vignette about a particularly emotional moment while volunteering this past summer in the Philippines through the MCEDC program. It was arresting, but allowed me to emphasis the critical nature of my research and continually tie theoretical aims back to a very real and raw practical issue. I will use the grant to pursue my PhD in Civil Engineering here at the University of Colorado Boulder, working with Dr. Amy Javernick-Will in the Civil Systems program. On a personal level, the award will grant me the financial security to pursue the research interests I am most passionate about."
Uprooted from Montana, Shaye Palagi graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in May 2015 with a B.S. in Environmental Engineering. Besides concentrating on engineering for developing communities within EVEN, she also completed minor programs in Religious Studies and Peace and Conflict Studies. After graduation, Shaye became a second lieutenant in the Colorado National Air Guard and is a member of the 240th Civil Engineering Flight. Simultaneously, as a graduate student at the University of Colorado Boulder, Shaye studies risk reduction decision making in the planning and construction of post-disaster relocation projects. She has interned with iDE in Denver, Build Change in Nepal, and volunteered with a local city government in the Philippines. Shaye is interested in building a career in international development, particularly in disaster recovery and military-humanitarian cooperation.