Photo by Aaron Philbrick Elyse Jones, a 2019 Jamestown High School graduate and 2023 University of Rochester graduate, is pictured.

Elyse Jones, daughter of David and Michele Jones of Jamestown, a 2019 Jamestown High School graduate and 2023 University of Rochester graduate is pursuing her PhD in aerospace engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

She has been offered a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Launched in 1952 shortly after Congress established NSF, the Graduate Research Fellowship program represents the nation’s oldest continuous investment in the U.S. scientific workforce. The program recruits high-potential, early-career researchers and supports their graduate training in science, technology, social science, engineering, mathematics, and STEM education.

Awardees receive three years of support. Support includes a $37,000 annual stipend, a $16,000 cost-of-education allowance that covers tuition and fees, and access to the INTERN program, which supports research internships in any sector of the U.S. economy. Fellows also have access to NSF’s Career-Life Balance initiative.