UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Sophia Mucciolo, an ecology student affiliated with the Penn State Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, recently received a fellowship from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). She was one of eight students from Penn State selected for the program this year.
An additional three ecology students, out of 23 Penn State students, received honorable mentions.
The fellowship offers three tenure years of financial support through a stipend in the amount of $37,000, alongside a $16,000 education allowance for tuition and fees, which is paid to the student’s institution. Each fellow will also receive a $2,000 scholarship from the J. Jeffrey and Anne Marie Fox Graduate School for years they declare tenure, beginning in the 2025-26 academic year. Overall, the program seeks to “help ensure the quality, vitality, and strength of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States,” according to the program website.
“I’m so proud of these students,” said Jason Kaye, distinguished professor of soil biogeochemistry and chair of the Ecology Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in the College of Agricultural Sciences. “To be recognized nationally by NSF, these students must put forward bold, creative ideas, then perfectly craft the written proposal. This also wouldn’t be possible without the mentorship of our faculty members, because NSF also evaluates how well the students will be supported. The ecology students consistently do well in this competition, and each year it is a refreshing reminder that we shine on the national stage.”
Mucciolo, a doctoral student in ecology, received the fellowship for her research focused on understanding survival and predation of monarch butterflies.
“My goal is to take ecological predation research and integrate different computational techniques like computer vision to better understand monarch butterflies, their survival and the factors that could potentially contribute to their deaths,” Mucciolo said.
Mucciolo, who is advised by Sara Hermann, assistant professor of ecology and entomology, explained that her work will use video surveillance and computer vision algorithms to answer questions about whether monarch caterpillars are toxic and deter predators. She will conduct the research in backyard gardens in Centre County.
“This work provides a way to connect with people on different aspects of science,” Hermann said. “We will work together with people in their backyards by providing
information on habitat conservation, but the heart of the project is translating our science into meaningful outcomes.”
The NSF fellowship program is competitive and only accepts a small percentage of students, according to Hermann.
“The program highlights and supports top tier students, and it speaks volumes to Sophia not only as a researcher but as a person,” Hermann said. “It is incredible to have a person like Sophia in the lab who is finding ways to push research forward in this capacity.”
NSF also awarded honorable mentions to ecology graduate students Elizabeth McAlpine-Bellis, Natalie Ford and Jonah Gray.
McAlpine-Bellis received an honorable mention for her work in climate change and how forestry techniques could impact temperatures of the planet and how wildlife, particularly turtles, adapt to these environmental changes.
“Receiving an honorable mention from NSF means that my research could have a significant impact on progressing science as we know it,” she said. “We, as graduate students, work really hard, and it means a lot to me to be acknowledged.”
Ford’s honorable mention recognizes her work studying root-associated soil microbiomes and their influence on above-ground plant characteristics across various environments.
Gray received an honorable mention for his work tracking microbial activity in soil and how it correlates with production of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas. His proposal included two experiments that will allow him to observe microbial interactions in real time.
“Being acknowledged with an honorable mention is a great accomplishment,” Gray said. “I had the chance to reflect on my experiences so far at Penn State, and I was reminded that this would not have been possible without the immense support of my advisers and the ecology student community.”