UTC chemistry alums Christine Rukeyser, left, and Bre-Anna Willis have been selected for the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program. Photos by Angela Foster.
Two recent graduates of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Department of Chemistry and Physics have been awarded prestigious national fellowships.
Christine Rukeyser, an Innovation in Honors student in the UTC Honors College who received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in December 2023, and Bre-Anna Willis, recipient of a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in December 2022, have been selected for the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP)—a highly competitive program that supports outstanding graduate students in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields.
Rukeyser, mentored by UTC Assistant Professor of Chemistry Meredith Barbee, will begin a Ph.D. program at Northwestern University in the fall. She is currently a post-bachelor’s research associate at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Willis was mentored by Associate Professor of Chemistry John Lee during her time as a UTC undergraduate. She is now a Ph.D. student and graduate teaching assistant at the University of Connecticut.
According to its website, the purpose of the NSF GRFP is to help ensure the quality, vitality and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States. The five-year fellowship provides three years of financial support, including an annual stipend of $37,000.
“The NSF GRFP is supporting a new generation of engaged scientists who will make their mark on the world,” said Dr. Trey Straussberger, director of the UTC Office of National Scholarships. “For UTC, which serves a wide range of students, to have two former students receiving the award in one year is an amazing accomplishment and reflects the strong and engaged mentorship that faculty—in this case, the faculty in the chemistry department—provide for our undergraduates.
“When you see the results pop up that you had two different students who won, it’s just a moment of joy and elation. You know that this scholarship is going to change these students’ lives.”
Christine Rukeyser
During her time as a UTC undergraduate, Rukeyser was accepted into the Fulbright Canada Mitacs Globalink program, an international education experience under the Fulbright umbrella for U.S. students interested in traveling to Canada to undertake advanced research projects in their area of interest.
When the Knoxville, Tennessee, native won the award in 2022, she was the first UTC student in recent years in the STEM field to receive a Fulbright internship.
“Christine consistently displayed a desire to take ownership of her work and showed persistence in solving research problems,” Barbee said. “Her self-motivation, organization and time management skills propelled her to success, and she aims to consistently improve her skills.”
Rukeyser completed her honors thesis in Barbee’s lab on stress-sensing in epoxy adhesives.
Following the honors thesis, Rukeyser completed an REU—short for Research Experience for Undergraduates—at Princeton University’s Center for Complex Materials. Rukeyser worked in Professor Emily Davidson’s lab, where her work focused on synthesizing degradable polymers.
“Upon returning to UTC, she rejoined my research group and began working on her GRFP proposal,” Barbee said. “She was motivated to build on her work at Princeton.
“I look forward to continuing to be a mentor and eventual scientific colleague as she continues her career.”
Bre-Anna Willis
Willis, a native of Clarksville, Tennessee, is pursuing a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry at the University of Connecticut—where she is a member of the Ung Research Group.
Lee called Willis an excellent experimental chemist and researcher with a highly inquisitive mind, outstanding laboratory technique and an “appropriate personality for collaborative work.”
“She excelled in the laboratory component of the chemistry curriculum,” Lee explained. “Laboratory work comes to her naturally.
“Her laboratory work in a short amount of time at both UTC and at the University of Connecticut (summer 2022 REU) clearly demonstrated she can translate knowledge into action.”
Lee said Willis shows a passion for learning and chemistry that “is unquestionable,” placing her in the “top 1%” of the undergraduate researchers he has worked with since joining the UTC faculty in 2010.
“The potential, the drive to be great and the work ethic are all there,” he said, “and I have no doubt that she will continue to grow as a student and a professional during her graduate studies at UConn. Indeed, upon completion of the Advanced Inorganic Chemistry class and subsequently joining my research group, she said, ‘I feel at home in this chemistry.’ She took off from there.
“I am thrilled for Bre-Anna and this accomplishment.”
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