UNT students and recent alums have earned some of the most prestigious awards for rising scholars.

Sydney Fields and Ernest "Will" Cubit II ('22) in the College of Engineering as well as Kristina Fite and Marie Muñiz ('23) in the College of Science received the U.S. National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship -- one of the most competitive research awards in the nation for graduate students. Their research will help in discovering metal alloys and studying 3D-printed alloys for aerospace applications, as well as investigating the potential harmful effects of the chemical 6PPD and looking at what effect pesticides and rising global temperatures can have on bumblebee behavior. "I am proud to celebrate these UNT alumni and students as they work to further research within their fields and help shape the future STEM workforce," says Pamela Padilla, UNT's vice president for research and innovation.

Electrical engineering alum James Jenkins ('24) earned a scholarship-for-service award from the U.S. Department of Defense's Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation (SMART) program, which is focused on building future U.S. leaders in STEM fields and offers recipients full tuition, annual stipends, internships and guaranteed employment with the Department of Defense after graduation.

Students Sarang Goel and Ramya Motati (pictured) from the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science at UNT were named 2024 Goldwater Scholars for their work in the fields of artificial intelligence and solvation chemistry. Honors College student Chloe Moubarak studied Arabic this summer as one of only 500 students to participate in the U.S. Department of State's Critical Language Scholarship Program.