Two USU Students Receive National Science Foundation Research Fellowship

Two Utah State University students have been awarded one of the nation's most distinguished research fellowships. Mechanical engineering student Ryan Lewis and geosciences student Michelle Norman were both selected for the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship Program. This year, the program recognized 1,000 students nationwide, providing each recipient with five years of support, including a $37,000 annual stipend for three years.

Lewis will graduate this spring with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and will begin graduate studies at Purdue University in the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics. There, he will work with professor Timmothy Pourpoint on research related to rocket propellants and propulsion systems. This work aims to improve the safety, reliability and efficiency of next-generation propulsion technologies, which is an important step in advancing space exploration and making space more accessible.

"To me, this fellowship represents the culmination of my academic and research journey at USU," said Lewis. "I sincerely appreciate the outstanding USU community of faculty, mentors and peers whose guidance and encouragement have been crucial to my growth and this award."

In addition to the fellowship, Lewis received the Astronaut Scholarship from the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation and was the only recipient from Utah this year. He is a Grand Challenges Scholar in the College of Engineering and a key member of USU's Rocket Team, which earned third place overall at the most recent national competition. He also received an award in the Undergraduate Oral Presentation division during the 2024 Student Research Symposium.

"This fellowship provides essential funding for graduate school and connects me with a community of passionate individuals who share a deep commitment to STEM," he added.

Undergraduate Research Fellow and USU Honors scholar Michelle Norman, who graduates this spring with a bachelor's degree in geology, can usually be found outside perched, somewhere remote, on a precarious outcrop. Since their first semester at Utah State, Norman has conducted geochemistry and stratigraphy research on 500-million-year-old limestones outside Delta, Utah, with guidance from Department of Geosciences faculty mentor Carol Dehler.

Pairing geochemistry and extensive field research over the course of three summers, Norman has uncovered inconsistencies with the carbon isotope values preserved in these limestones. Their research suggests these carbon isotopes do not show a snapshot of the ancient carbon cycle, as previously hypothesized, and instead show secondary fluid flow.

To conduct this research, Norman was awarded College of Science funding, along with a USU Undergraduate Research and Creative Opportunities grant and a Peak Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship. They presented findings from this research at two national geology conferences and numerous USU research and outreach events. Norman was also named the College of Science's Peak Prize Undergraduate Researcher of the Year for 2025. Inspired by their mathematics minor, Norman serves as a recitation leader for the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. When not engaged in research or academics, they hike, rock climbs, runs, watercolors, reads, plays D&D and plans to undertake skiing.

Following graduation, Norman will enter a doctoral program in geology at the University of Utah. In this program, they will be reconstructing ocean oxygen in roughly 539-million-year-old carbonates and shales in Nevada.

"These sediments preserve the transition between squishy, exoskeleton-lacking organisms in the Ediacaran to the exoskeleton-bearing organisms in the Cambrian," Norman says. "These include the trilobites I've been researching as an undergrad."

Norman says their research experiences at Utah State have been integral to their success with the fellowship program.

"In applying for smaller grants and learning how to communicate my science to a wide audience, I felt prepared for the NSF application," they said. "I have absolutely adored the support and encouragement of my department, Honors and the Office of Research as I have completed my research. I'm really excited for this next step in my scientific career."

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Writers:

Madeline Buskirk, madeline.buskirk@usu.edu, 435-797-7512

Mary-Ann Muffoletto, maryann.muffoletto@usu.edu, 435-797-3517