Andrew Siciliano was regularly checking the National Science Foundation website when it went under maintenance in April. Siciliano knew that meant that the names of the awardees would be released soon, and when the site was back online, he anxiously checked for his name.
“I was speechless,” he said.
Siciliano was named one of the awardees of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program. The NSF GRFP is a prestigious award undergraduate students can apply for in their senior year to support their work toward a doctoral degree. The GRFP provides three years of support toward graduate education over a five-year fellowship period. This year, after uncertainty about how many awards would be funded, a total of 1,500 students were granted the award across all disciplines. On the date that Siciliano found out he had been awarded, only 1,000 awardees were selected. Later, 500 students originally named honorable mentions were awarded the GRFP.
Siciliano graduated this spring with a degree in geology, but he wanted to know everything he could about geochemistry, so he pursued a minor in chemistry. He added a minor in math, because he knew statistics were important for interpreting scientific results. He also added a minor in geography, because it sounded interesting. Sometimes there was overlap in the material he was learning, but Siciliano found it helpful in approaching problems.
“It’s cool to see how people approach these questions when they have drastically different training and backgrounds,” Siciliano said. “I think you get a really wide range of perspectives and ways to think about problems.”
Siciliano was very successful as an undergraduate student. He earned the highest GPA in the geology program, making him a Westfall Scholar, and he received the Barry Goldwater Scholarship during his junior year. Siciliano actively participated in research as an undergraduate, working with Associate Professor Philipp Ruprecht studying the geochemistry of old volcanoes of the Great Basin, and spending time in the electron microbeam laboratory with Joel DesOrmeau.
“I was lucky to have Andrew in my group for such a long time,” Ruprecht said. “He could have graduated sooner, but his broad curiosity into different disciplines made him a thoughtful member of our research in every aspect of the Solid Earth (the research that explores the dynamics and geochemical evolution of the Earth core, mantle and crust) for several years. This continued involvement in research is rare for excellent undergraduate students.”
“I have had the pleasure of working with Andrew as my assistant in the Mackay Microbeam Lab for the last two and a half years,” DesOrmeau said. “Seeing him grow into an already successful scientist and work extremely hard towards his goals has been beyond rewarding. First with numerous ҹɫÊÓƵ grants, then the Barry Goldwater Scholarship at the national level, and culminating with the GRFP award as an undergraduate. In addition to being awarded these very competitive grants, Andrew kept stellar grades, worked 20 hours each week running state-of-the-art analytical instruments and maintained numerous independent research projects.”
Siciliano also received a Summer Program for Undergraduate Research (SPUR) award, allowing him to study at the University of Utah with Chadlin Ostrander for ten weeks last summer. That experience proved fruitful for Siciliano, who will study with Ostrander for his doctoral degree at the University of Utah.
Siciliano will continue work he began under Ostrander, studying the rise of oxygenin early Earth environments.
“There are many questions that I’d be interested in looking at for five years of my time,” Siciliano said.
Siciliano said the success of his application was made possible by support from Ostrander, Ruprecht and DesOrmeau.
“My application was built on the research I did in Chad’s lab,” Siciliano said. “He taught me the ropes of almost a whole new field. I can’t thank him enough.”
Siciliano said that the research statement for his application was built on the work he did with Ostrander, while the personal statement was based on experiences he gained working with Ruprecht and DesOrmeau.
Ruprecht recommended that students looking for success like Siciliano’s get involved in research activities early in their college career.
“Find a mentor you connect well with and take advantage of those close relationships,” Ruprecht said.
“Philipp taught me all of the basics I know about research,” Siciliano said. “He really turned me into the person that I am in all the best ways. Joel was just as influential. He took me under [his wing] and transferred a lot of knowledge.”
“I can’t say enough good things about Andrew and am so excited to see what the future holds for such a promising scientist and overall great person,” DesOrmeau added.
Siciliano added that the Honors College and the Writing Center were very helpful as he worked on his application, as well as his partner, family, and friends
“If anyone is looking to apply for the GRFP, those are fantastic resources, just as helpful as my research advisors,” he said. “I was super impressed and can’t recommend reaching out to the Honors College or the Writing Center enough.”
Siciliano has already started his research project with Ostrander and will start classes in the fall. In the long term, Siciliano hopes to be a professor with his own research lab, continuing to study geochemistry and share his passion for it with others.
“I am sure Andrew will go on and tackle some really fundamental questions of how Earth evolved over its billion years of history, and I am looking forward to his future contributions to our understanding!” Ruprecht said.
