TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | MAY 22-MAY 28, 2020 21
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
A Queens resident and
Hunter College student was
recently awarded with the
prestigious National Science
Foundation’s Graduate Research
Fellowship Program
(NSF-GRFP).
Ariane Marchese, 21, of
Bayside, is furthering her
education as a graduate student
at Columbia University
this fall studying mechanical
engineering.
Prior to attending Hunter’s
Macaulay Honors College Program,
Marchese graduated in
2016 from Townsend Harris
High School in Flushing.
“I wanted to pursue mechanical
engineering because
I really enjoyed physics as well
as material science. I found
KIDS & EDUCATION
that mechanical engineering
was the marriage between my
two interests,” said Marchese,
a senior physics major in
Hunter’s Macaulay Honors
College Program. “It was nice
to be awarded a grant to use
for further research to go to
graduate school.”
The NSF-GRFP program
recognizes and supports outstanding
graduate students
pursuing research-based masters
and doctoral degrees in
National Science Foundationsupported
disciplines within
science, technology, engineering
and mathematics.
NSF Fellows receive a
three-year annual stipend of
$34,000 along with a $12,000
allowance for tuition and fees
paid directly to the accredited
U.S. institution they choose to
attend for their graduate education.
Fellows are offered opportunities
for international
research and professional development,
and the freedom to
conduct their own research.
As an undergraduate student
at Hunter, Marchese
worked with Prof. Steve
Greenbaum, studying the
unprecedented threat posed
to the earth’s atmosphere by
the accelerating growth of
greenhouse gases. Marchese’s
research seeks to ameliorate
rising atmospheric CO2 levels
through the development of
materials capable of absorbing
or converting atmospheric
CO2.
She has also worked on other
projects during her eightweek
2019 summer research
internship program at The
Materials Research Laboratory
through the NSF REU
program, which brings hundreds
of the best science and
engineering undergraduates
in the country to MIT for graduate
level materials research.
“I interned with Dr. Caroline
Ross and her graduate
student, Takian Fakhrul. I
used a vibrating sample magnetometer
(VSM) and a Faraday
detector to observe the
magnetic properties of rareearth
garnet films as potential
magneto-optical materials for
laser systems,” said Marchese,
who also interned at the Goddard
Space Flight Center during
the summer of her freshman
year in college.
Jennifer Raab, president
of Hunter College, congratulated
Marchese on her
accomplishment.
“We are incredibly proud
of our students for their hard
work and dedication to their
studies. Students like Ariane
are truly extraordinary and
inspire our faculty and staff in
addition to their fellow peers,”
Raab said. “Each year, Hunter
College students receive prestigious
awards and fellowships,
and this year we are
pleased to announce that Ariane
is among those honored for
their academic achievements.
We look forward to continuing
to connect our extraordinary
young scholars with the
opportunities they deserve.”
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.com or
by phone at (718) 260–4526.
BAYSIDE RESIDENT
AWARDED
PRESTIGIOUS
NATIONAL
SCIENCE
FOUNDATION
GRADUATE
FELLOWSHIP
Ariane Marchese, 21, a senior physics
major in Hunter’s Macaulay Honors College
Program, was awarded the National Science
Foundation’s fellowship.
Courtesy of Ariane Marchese
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