NSF Awards Hope Alumni with Graduate Research Fellowship Program Offers

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The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is one of the nation's most prestigious fellowship programs, providing financial support to graduate students who have demonstrated potential for significant achievements in research. These Hope College alumni were among a total of 2,500 fellowship award recipients nationally, selected from a competitive pool of 14,000 applicants based on their intellectual merit and broader impacts — including their potential to contribute to scientific innovation. An additional 1,470 applicants were named as honorable mentions.

• Rachel Shaw ’24 graduated with her BA in Spanish and also a Bachelor’s of Applied Science in biochemistry and molecular biology.  She was recently accepted to start this fall in the Ph.D. program at Yale University in the department of ecology and evolutionary biology. Working with Dr. Michael Philben, associate professor of geological and environmental science and chemistry, her main research project was “Comparing the Effect of Organic Matter Quality on Aerobic and Anaerobic Greenhouse Gas Production.” She also presented this work at several conferences, including the American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting in New Orleans. In 2021, Shaw received a fellowship from the Michigan Space Grant Consortium, for “Determination of the Bioavailability of Organic Nitrogen in the Decomposition of Peat Moss” under her mentor Dr. Philben. While at Hope, she was one of 63 graduating seniors to be initiated into the college’s Zeta of Michigan chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest scholastic honorary society. She also received the Southland Award, which is presented to the Hope College senior who exhibited the “highest standard of all-around scholarship in several fields, character and citizenship” during their time at Hope.

• Austin Becksvoort ’25, graduated from Hope with a BS in chemistry with ACS certification and in chemical engineering (ABET accredited), and is now a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, pursuing a doctorate in organic chemistry. While at Hope, Becksvoort worked under Dr. Christopher Turlington, associate professor of chemistry. Becksvoort's most impactful project in the chemistry lab was a new method to make metal-based polymers, a project he piloted to a publication. Becksvoort was also recognized with several awards from Hope College, including: the Hope College Senior Research Award for outstanding accomplishments in chemistry research; the ACS Inorganic Award for demonstrating excellence in inorganic chemistry through research, coursework and dedication; and the Drs. Eugene C. and Elaine Z. Jekel Award, which recognizes a freshman student who brings in AP credit and demonstrated excellence in chemistry. In 2023, Becksvoort was also awarded the prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship.  

• Emma Rudisel ’24 graduated from Hope College with a BS in biochemistry and molecular biology. She is a first-year graduate program student at Yale University where she’s pursuing a Ph.D. in the biological and biomedical sciences program. While at Hope College, she worked with Dr. Kristin Dittenhafer-Reed, associate professor of chemistry, on research exploring the function of mitochondria. Rudisel participated in off-campus summer research at both the Van Andel Research Institute in Grand Rapids, and the University of Michigan Cancer Research Summer Internship in Ann Arbor. In 2024, Rudisel was named a Barry Goldwater Scholarship recipient and she earned a poster award at the national American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology undergraduate poster competition. In 2025, she was recognized with an honorable mention in the Graduate Research Fellowship Program.

• Bryan Forrest ’25 received an honorable mention from the GRFP. He graduated from Hope with a BS in ACS chemistry, and is currently enrolled in the Ph.D. program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for organic chemistry.  While at Hope, he performed research with Dr. Jeffrey Johnson, professor of chemistry and department chair, developing new chemical reactions capable of manipulating small organic molecules in previously unknown ways. Forrest’s work focused on using rhodium catalysis to break carbon-carbon bonds to make useful new molecules. From 2023-34, he served as a Beckman Scholar, supported by Hope’s Beckman Scholars Program Award from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. 

Hope College students and graduates have received fellowships or honorable mention recognition annually through this program for more than 30 years. The awards are granted for graduate students pursuing a research-based master’s or doctoral degree in a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) field.

About the Graduate Fellowship Research Program

Since its inception in 1952, GRFP has supported over 70,000 graduate research fellows, many of whom have gone on to become leaders in research and innovation. By recruiting and supporting outstanding students with exceptional potential for leadership in STEM, the program has spurred scientific breakthroughs and economically significant innovations, with more than 40 former fellows having received Nobel Prizes.