Chancellor’s Doctoral Fellowships promote KU research

LAWRENCE — As a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, the University of Kansas supports advanced research that improves and transforms Kansas, the United States and the world. The Chancellor’s Doctoral Fellowships furthers this mission by funding the next generation of cutting-edge scholars.

Initiated in 2013 by KU’s 17th chancellor, Bernadette Gray-Little, the Chancellor’s Doctoral Fellowship continues under the stewardship of KU’s current chancellor, Douglas A. Girod. The fellowship program supports 12 graduate students for five years by covering tuition costs and providing an annual $25,000 stipend.

“As one of America’s leading research universities, we have a special responsibility to prepare students for advanced studies in a wide range of subjects,” Girod said. “These fellowships are instrumental in helping us to recruit talented scholars who will help shape the future of their chosen field of study. Their work holds enormous promise to lift our university and society, and we look forward to seeing what they will achieve.”

Recruited by KU’s graduate programs, fellows devote their focus to scholarship that addresses pressing issues with innovative solutions. For example, Matthew Blomberg came to the William Allen White School of Journalism & Mass Communications to study contemporary media consumption, a topic of significant concern in the U.S. and abroad.

Some fellows focus on growing research areas in science and technology. Iman Askari works on the engineering of controllers for complex applications such as autonomous automobiles and robotics. Kailani Jones investigates ways to improve the security of cloud computing, an increasingly popular system for digital file storage and transfer.

Fellows also explore ways to improve social conditions. Suman Rath seeks answers to the difficulties that adults with disabilities face when applying to and working within corporations. Alexandra Golik focuses on developing interventions to improve the lives of children who have endured traumatic events like terrorism and humanitarian disasters.

The 2018 Chancellor’s Doctoral Fellows are listed below. Learn more about these graduate interests and their research interests at the Chancellor’s Doctoral Fellows site.

Iman Askari, Department of Mechanical Engineering

Matthew Blomberg, William Allen White School of Journalism & Mass Communications

Lisa Favicchia, Department of English

Kelsey Ferguson, Department of Molecular Biosciences

Sheyenne Fishero, Department of Linguistics

Alexandra Golik, Clinical Child Psychology Program

Jeffrey Hoover, Department of Educational Psychology

Kailani Jones, Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science

Bethany Potter, Department of Anthropology

Salman Rahmani, Department of Aerospace Engineering

Suman Rath, Department of Special Education

Matthew Travert, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology.