The Graduate School at Northwestern University

09/22/2026

Anisha Sharma is a PhD candidate in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in the McCormick School of Engineering. Her research focuses on developing polymer materials that combine the recyclability of thermoplastics with the durability of thermosets. Driven by a longstanding interest in environmental sustainability, Anisha explores how polymer chemistry influences both the mechanical performance and recyclability of these innovative materials. Anisha is also a recipient of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program, which supports outstanding STEM graduate students pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees.

Learn more in our Spotlight Series here: https://www.tgs.northwestern.edu/about/our-community/spotlight/anisha-sharma.html

08/04/2026

Ozivell Ecford is a PhD candidate in Learning Sciences in the School of Education and Social Policy. His work investigates how interdisciplinary arts and technology can aid trauma recovery, cultivate individual and collective agencies, strengthen community formation, and amplify the voices of historically marginalized and oppressed communities. Ozivell was inducted into the prestigious Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Honor Society, which recognizes scholars who demonstrate academic excellence, leadership, character, service, and advocacy.

Learn more in our Spotlight Series here: https://www.tgs.northwestern.edu/about/our-community/spotlight/ozivell-ecford.html

07/28/2026

Natalia Matiuto is a PhD candidate in the Driskill Graduate Program in Life Sciences and Clinical Investigation in the Feinberg School of Medicine. Her research focuses on mitochondrial transplantation for vascular complications in diabetes. Natalia also holds a leadership role in the Northwestern Biotech Group and Nucleate Chicago.

Learn more in our Spotlight Series here: https://www.tgs.northwestern.edu/about/our-community/spotlight/natalia-matiuto.html

06/30/2026

Marwa Tahboub is a PhD candidate in Media, Technology & Society in the School of Communication. Her research focuses on nonprofit and mutual aid organizations involved in advocacy, collective action, and humanitarian aid, with a particular interest in how identity and politics shape individual giving and activism. Marwa is interested in what motivates people to support collective efforts and how communities organize care and solidarity.

Learn more in our Spotlight Series here: https://www.tgs.northwestern.edu/about/our-community/spotlight/marwa-tahboub.html

06/24/2026

The Graduate School is pleased to announce the 2026 recipients of the Presidential Fellowship, the most prestigious fellowship awarded to graduate students by Northwestern University.

Please join us in congratulating:

– Herma Demissie, Chemical and Biological Engineering
– Fatima Gaw, Media, Technology, and Society
– Elena González Prieto, Astronomy
– Peri Ella Green, Learning Sciences
– Gillian Hemme, Theatre and Drama
– Vineet Xie-Gupta, Sociology

Read more about the inductees and their innovative research here: https://www.tgs.northwestern.edu/funding/fellowships-and-grants/internal-fellowships-grants/presidential-fellowship/current-fellows.html

06/09/2026

Allegra Minor is a PhD candidate in the Driskill Graduate Program and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics in the Feinberg School of Medicine. Her research focuses on using cellular senescence, a permanent form of cell cycle arrest, as a strategy to control tumor growth. Allegra was recently selected as a Bouchet Graduate Honor Society inductee and is also part of the Carcinogenesis Training Program associated with the Carcinogenesis T32 Training Grant.

Learn more in our Spotlight Series here: https://www.tgs.northwestern.edu/about/our-community/spotlight/allegra-minor.html

05/12/2026

Lauren Rouse is a postdoctoral teaching fellow at the Cook Family Writing Program. Their research focuses on how individuals from groups that are often marginalized or underrepresented in mainstream culture interact with one another on social media and engage with traditional media that represents their identities. Lauren was recently awarded the 2025–26 TGS McBride Postdoctoral Scholar Award, which recognizes an outstanding postdoc who goes above or beyond any or all of the areas of community, service, and engagement.

Learn more in our Spotlight Series here: https://www.tgs.northwestern.edu/about/our-community/spotlight/lauren-rouse.html

05/11/2026

Join The Graduate School (TGS) for a Lunch & Learn event featuring two of Northwestern's Presidential Fellows, which is the most prestigious fellowship awarded by the University, on Thursday, May 21 from 12:00–1:15 PM in Parkes Hall Room 122 on the Evanston campus. Register here: https://forms.tgs.northwestern.edu/view.php?id=674661

Enjoy a complimentary buffet lunch from Everest Indian Cuisine while connecting with colleagues and learning about innovative, interdisciplinary work happening on campus. A variety of food options will be served to accommodate dietary needs.

During lunch, Victoria Lang, PhD candidate in Earth & Planetary Sciences, will share her research on air quality improvement in Illinois and how air pollution affects communities. Joshua Brallier, PhD candidate in Religious Studies, will share his research on a nineteenth-century autobiography of a Tibetan Buddhist master that reflects on the intersections of masculinity, religion, and warfare. Learn more about their research here: https://www.tgs.northwestern.edu/about/news/2026/04/attend-a-presidential-fellows-lunch-learn-event.html

This event is free and open to all members of the TGS community. Please register in advance to ensure there is enough food and email [email protected] with any questions.

05/07/2026

Congratulations to Lisandro Andrés Mendieta, a doctoral candidate in Spanish and Portuguese, who has been named a 2026 fellow of the American Council of Learned Sciences (ACLS). Mendieta, along with Cory L. Barnes, associate professor of philosophy in the Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences, joins this year’s ACLS cohort of 63 fellows selected from over 2,000 applicants!

Learn more in the article below:

Two scholars from Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences have been named 2026 fellows of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS): Corey L....

05/07/2026

Northwestern University is putting support for its students front and center with a new fundraising campaign. Through the Forever Shine Campaign, announced today, the University aims to raise at least $625 million for scholarships and supplemental programs benefiting undergraduate, graduate and prof...