​Six Swarthmore alumni and one current student have received 2018 graduate research fellowships from the National Science Foundation (NSF), in recognition of outstanding potential in each of their respective fields of study. 

Through this program, the NSF recognizes and supports graduate students who have demonstrated intellectual strength in the science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and social science disciplines.

NSF selected its 2,000 fellows from more than 13,000 applications through a rigorous, national competition.

"These fellowships single out students who are poised not only to become leaders in their fields, but also to impact society more broadly with their work," says Professor of Mathematics & Statistics Cheryl Grood. "The fact that Swarthmore students and alumni so regularly receive this honor is indicative of the exceptional talent of our students and their passion for contributing to the public good."

"I learned much of how to be a researcher at Swarthmore," echoes Josh Mundinger '18, a mathematics and music major from Boulder, Colo. "The seminars in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics taught me the skill of independent learning and of collaborative problem-solving, both indispensable in a research environment."

Swarthmore’s fellowship recipients are:

• Kristen Allen '12, now at Carnegie Mellon University (decision making and risk analysis)
• Canaan Breiss ’16, UCLA (linguistics)
• Bernard Koch ’12, UCLA (science policy)
• Kelley Langhans '16, Temple University (ecology)
• Oscar Leong ’16, Rice University (applied mathematics)
• Josh Mundinger ’18 (algebra, number theory, and combinatorics), will study at University of Chicago next year
• Patrick Schwarz '15, University of Chicago (economics)

The NSF graduate fellowship program has nurtured economic innovation and leadership in the U.S. since 1952.