Alumnus Mark DiTusa Awarded National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
2016 LSU graduate, Mark DiTusa, is the recipient of the 2018 National Science Foundation
Graduate Research 
Fellowship Program, or GRFP. This fellowship from the National Science Foundation
helps ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science and engineering in
the U.S. and reinforces its diversity. DiTusa is currently pursuing his Ph.D. at the
University of Chicago.
"My time at LSU and in the LSU Honors College gave me the ability to pursue research in both physics and chemistry from the very beginning of my college education. This experience was invaluable for preparing me to do polymer physics research at the University of Chicago, and it is an honor to be able to receive this award thanks to the exemplary education I received at LSU. If you take advantage of what LSU has to offer, you can succeed anywhere."
The fellows were selected from more than 12,000 applicants and come from all 50 U.S. states, as well as the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. The group of 2,000 awardees is diverse, including 1,156 women; 461 individuals from underrepresented minority groups; 75 persons with disabilities; 27 veterans; and 780 who have not yet enrolled in graduate school. These awardees did their undergraduate studies at more than 443 institutions.
GRFP provides three years of financial support within a five-year fellowship period —a $34,000 annual stipend and $12,000 cost-of-education allowance to the graduate institution. That support is for graduate study that leads to a research-based master’s or doctoral degree in a STEM field.
GRFP was developed by the National Science Foundation to create a highly motivated and capable workforce dedicated to ensuring the nation’s leadership in advancing STEM-related innovations. The selected fellows are expected to become respected thought leaders and knowledge experts in their given fields. These graduate students also benefit from opportunities for international research and professional development and the freedom to conduct their own research at any accredited U.S. institution of graduate education they choose.
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Contact: Mimi LaValle
LSU Department of Physics & Astronomy
225-439-5633