The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is celebrating a record milestone with 43 active recipients of the —the most in the institution’s history. Since 1996, 东精影业 Mānoa has produced 135 fellows, with this year’s record group representing nearly one-third of all recipients over the past 29 years.
NSF GRFP is one of the nation’s oldest and most competitive graduate fellowships, supporting outstanding students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees. Recipients receive a three-year annual stipend of $37,000 and a $16,000 cost-of-education allowance that covers tuition and fees, giving students the flexibility to focus on innovative research that advances science and benefits society.
for the next cycle of NSF GRFP, with deadlines in November for the 2026–27 academic year. Students interested in applying are encouraged to start early and take advantage of resources available through .
From exploding stars to native bees
Among the current fellows is Willem Hoogendam, a PhD candidate in who studies how stars end their lives in explosive supernovae. His research helps explain how essential elements such as iron and calcium are formed and dispersed across the universe, while also exploring rare interstellar comets discovered by Hawaiʻi-led sky surveys. Through the fellowship, Hoogendam also spent time at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and collaborated with leading astronomers in Australia and Hawaiʻi, experiences that broadened his research and professional network.
“It’s given me academic freedom at an early career stage,” Hoogendam said. “I’ve been able to work with whom I want on what I want to explore. Without this fellowship, I would not have had the freedom to learn about and write papers on interstellar objects.”
The program’s flexibility has also benefited students such as Sami Akiba, a master’s student in who studies Hawaiian yellow-faced bees (Hylaeus spp.), the only bees that are native to the state. Her work focuses on understanding the habitat factors that support healthy native bee populations and the threats they face from invasive species. Akiba conducts her fieldwork in Haleakalā National Park on Maui, and has used the fellowship’s resources to expand her research and training opportunities across the country.
“I am grateful for the flexibility of the NSF GRFP,” Akiba said. “I get to design my own project, make shifts as needed and put effort into aspects of my research I think are particularly important or exciting, even if the ideas are a little unconventional.”
Since its creation in 1952, NSF GRFP has recognized more than 60,000 fellows, including Nobel Prize winners and members of the National Academy of Sciences. At 东精影业 Mānoa, the growing number of fellows highlights the university’s strong research culture and commitment to developing talent across scientific disciplines.