Four UMass Amherst computer science doctoral students received prestigious fellowships from Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and NASA.
John Vilk was chosen for a 2015-2016 Facebook Fellowship, one of only 11 Ph.D student winners in the U.S. and Europe. The fellowship is a two-year award that covers tuition and fees, a stipend, and an opportunity for an internship at Facebook. Vilk is advised by Professor Emery Berger.
Xiaolan Wang was selected to receive a 2015 Google Fellowship in structured data. The Google U.S./Canada PhD Student Fellowship Program was created to recognize outstanding graduate students doing exceptional work in computer science, related disciplines, or promising research areas. Wang is one of 14 recipients in 2015 for this two-year fellowship. Her advisor is Assistant Professor Alexandra Meliou.
Pan Hu received a 2015 Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship, chosen as one of 12 Fellowship recipients from 169 applications received. Along with a financial award, he was offered the opportunity to participate in a 12-week research internship at Microsoft Research. Hu is advised by Associate Professor Deepak Ganesan.
Doctoral student Li Yang Ku received a 2014 NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship for his work on Integration of Robot Perception and Action. According to NASA, the fellowships support the goal of creating innovative new space technologies for our Nation's science, exploration, and economic future, while providing the Nation with a pipeline of highly-skilled scientists, technologists, engineers, and mathematicians to improve America's technological competitiveness. He is advised by Professor Rod Grupen and Associate Professor Erik Learned-Miller.