Matthew Bentley and Kaitlin Mattos each earned the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF GRF). The NSF GRF Program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based Master's and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions. NSF received nearly 17,000 applications and made 2,000 award offers this year. Matt and Kaitlin join a growing list of EDC students who have earned these awards over the past few years. Two other EDC students, Nicholas Valcourt and Shaye Palagi*, earned honorable mentions.
PhD Candidate Aaron Opdyke earned on of two USAID/OFDA Graduate Student Fellowships in Humanitarian Shelter and Settlements awarded this year. Aaron's ongoing research is investigating post-disaster shelter reconstruction following Super Typhoon Haiyan, which struck the central Philippines in 2013. His work involves tracking 20 shelter programs to understand the contribution of coordination, stakeholder participation, and training toward building resilience and sustainability of communities. As a USAID/OFDA Humanitarian Shelter and Settlements Fellow, he will analyze data collected from three previous field visits, spanning nine months, to compare different organizational approaches towards participation of local actors in making decisions, facilitating project implementation and evaluating shelter outcomes.
(*Allie Davis was previously noted as receiving honorable mention, but this was incorrect.)