One Fellowship, Two students. How U of A being a Hispanic-Serving Institution benefited two graduate students on their journey from student to ASCENDr Fellow.
The University of Arizona is constantly seeking ways to create opportunities for graduate students, and federal designations often open doors. The Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) designation, awarded by the U.S. Department of Education to universities where Hispanic students make up at least 25% of full-time equivalent undergraduate enrollment, plays a vital role. This status allows institutions to participate in academic coalitions, such as the Hispanic-Serving Research Universities (HSRU) Alliance, which connect Arizona Wildcats with faculty and mentors across the country.
For doctoral researchers at the University of Arizona, this federal distinction opens the door to significant funding and professional opportunities.
The Graduate Center recently had the opportunity to interview two graduate students who received the “Advancing Stem Careers through Education, Networking and Development + Research” (ASCENDr) Fellowship. The program, designed for doctoral students at HSRU Alliance institutions in collaboration with the Department of War, provides opportunities for students and faculty to engage in research and professional development related to national security. Through the fellowship, students connect with faculty, researchers, government professionals, and other experts working in the field. Two University of Arizona students were among the recipients selected in the fellowship’s inaugural competition.
Fellows gain access to a range of benefits, including cohort-based learning, an annual in-person meeting or networking and community engagement, and additional funding opportunities to support activities tied to their career development goals. Each fellow receives $12,500 to support their academic and professional development.
The ASCENDr Fellows: Liam Frank and McKenna Dunmeyer
Liam Frank, a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in Physics, centers his research on building specialized semiconductor laser systems for precision spectroscopy. Under the mentorship of Dr. Jason Jones and Dr. Mark Philips, Liam focuses on advancing optical atomic clocks, ultra-precise devices that use lasers to measure time.
While his previous lab research involves the utilization of home-built systems to characterize atomic and molecular dynamics within laser-produced plasmas, his focus now turns to optical atomic clocks, laser-based devices that keep time with high precision. His project for the ASCENDr Fellowship adapts these optical systems for critical military applications, specifically, enhancing optical atomic clocks to accurately synchronize satellite signals in GPS and to improve guidance trajectory calculations for anti-air missile defense systems.
Securing the fellowship provided invaluable funding and strong proposal-writing experience. While trying to frame his optics work as a defense proposal, he noted that the process of learning to “sell” his research while staying modest presented one of the biggest learning curves. Through the application process, Liam embraced a mindset of “the worst someone can say is no,” which ended up paying off when he successfully secured his participation in the first cohort of the ASCENDr Fellowship program.
Looking back, Liam’s biggest regret was keeping early drafts for the application between himself and his advisor, and wishes he had shared them among lab partners, since learning to frame science in a way that appeals to non-specialist reviewers was one of the hardest parts of the process. Fellow scientists, he said, would have caught places where the writing leaned too technical or didn’t make the case for why the research mattered.
His other tip: the essays and personal statements you write for one fellowship rarely go to waste. He has already repurposed ASCENDr materials for a NASA fellowship application.
Liam is passionate about making science feel accessible, leaving us with one of the phrases that stuck the most: “Anyone can do Physics. You just need a good teacher and a baseline interest in the material.”
McKenna Dunmeyer, a fourth-year Ph.D. student in the Chemical and Environmental Engineering Department, researches per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS or “forever chemicals.” Working alongside co-advisors Dr. Vicki Karanikola and Dr. Reyes Sierra-Alvarez, McKenna investigates how these persistent contaminants interact with biological interfaces and how to efficiently remove them from water systems. While large-scale treatment technologies exist for water treatment, her ASCENDr proposal targets an important gap for national security: small-scale, sustainable solutions for remote military installations, deployed troops, and service families in harsh environments where industrial treatment isn’t accessible. By studying the molecular interactions between various chemical structures of PFAS and customizable absorbent materials, her goal is to design affordable, point-of-use filtration systems that avoid creating secondary toxic waste streams.
Beyond the direct research funding, McKenna sees immense value in the fellowship’s networking component. For her, crossing paths with researchers across the 23 HSRU Alliance institutions provided her a fresh perspective and a welcome break from the routine of her daily lab work.
Looking ahead, McKenna hopes to take this research and her passion for environmental safety into academia, with plans to pursue a faculty position where she can develop new university courses on emerging contaminants like PFAS. Her biggest advice for future applicants is simple: don’t do it alone, she strongly encourages students to reach out and ask for help from peers who have already gone through the fellowship application process. For her, learning from someone who has walked the path is the best way to show reviewers why your research truly matters.
Though their research focuses on different fields, both Liam and McKenna exemplify the huge impact of becoming ASCENDr fellows. Beyond the amazing research funding and national security applications, their experiences highlight the importance of stepping outside the lab, building connections across institutions, and learning to effectively share the real-world significance of their work. Their journeys show that navigating fellowship opportunities isn’t something graduate students have to do alone.
We invite all graduate students to stop by the Graduate Center and connect with the Office of Fellowships to explore available funding and get support with their applications through workshops and the Fellowship Application Development Programs. This winter, a new ASCENDr competition will launch for research projects and student researchers. To learn more about eligibility requirements, application guidelines, and upcoming deadlines, please visit https://www.hsru.org/ascendr/research.
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