Ogden News

Congratulations to Emma Bunch, a 2025 alum of the WKU Department of Mathematics on her receipt of a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship for $159,000, which will go towards her Ph.D. for three years out of the five-year fellowship at the University of Kentucky.

"Having served on the national review panel many times, I know firsthand how difficult it is to receive this award, given the exceptionally competitive pool of applicants from highly prestigious universities," Dr. Ozkan Ozer, Associate Professor of Mathematics, said. "My sincere congratulations to Emma and to her thesis committee on this outstanding achievement."

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program aims to recognize and support outstanding graduate students who are pursuing full-time, research-based master's and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, including STEM education.

"If I had not received this award, then I would not have been able to do this with funding uncertainties," said Bunch. "I have wanted to research cancer for a very long time, and I am so grateful to God and everyone in the math department for all the opportunities I have been given."