Two grad students earn prestigious National Science Foundation fellowships
Two materials science and engineering graduate students have earned prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program awards.
Daniel Estrin and Yukai Tomsovic are both 2025 recipients of the NSF GRFP awards, which recognize and support outstanding grad students from across the country in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields who are pursuing research-based master’s or doctoral degree.
Awardees receive a $37,000 annual stipend and cost of education allowance for the next three years as well as professional development opportunities.
Find out about their research below :
Daniel Estrin
3rd Year MSE PhD Student
Advisor: Stephanie Bryant
Lab: Bryant Lab
The goal of my research is to design materials capable of preventing the foreign body response (FBR). The FBR is a pathological reaction of the innate immune system that occurs with nearly all implantable synthetic biomaterials regardless of their material properties. The process of implantation induces an acute inflammatory response upon implantation, accompanied by rapid and non-specific protein adsorption to the surface.
As proteins adsorb, they can unfold and display damage associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). Innate immune cells can sense DAMPs, and activate an inflammatory response. For longterm implants, innate immune cells are unable to eliminate the material through phagocytosis and instead isolate it from the body in an avascular collagenous capsule. This response is critical for the protection of the host against foreign materials.
However, for implanted medical devices such as pacemakers, glucose sensors, and hip implants, the fibrous capsule can lead to implant failure requiring replacement, repair, and additional surgical procedures that are costly and dangerous. Designing materials that circumvent the FBR would reduce implant failures, lead to longer lasting implants, and open doors to new implantable materials that currently are prohibited due to the FBR.
Yukai Tomsovic
3rd Year MSE PhD Student
Advisor:Anthony Straub
Lab: Straub Research Group
My research explores the mechanisms that govern per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) transport in nanofiltration membranes. These man-made, fluorinated chemicals have become ubiquitous in the environment due to their persistence and widespread use in consumer and industrial applications.
Pressure-driven membrane technologies show promise for concentrating PFAS-contaminated waste streams prior to destruction. However, membrane performance declines for short chain, ultra-short chain, and neutral PFAS, and the influence of feedwater composition and membrane properties remains unclear.
By providing a quantitative understanding of size-based exclusion and membrane-solute interactions that determine PFAS transport, my work seeks to enable innovative pathways in membrane design and support the development of energy- and cost-efficient water remediation strategies.