Albert Reed, an electrical engineering PhD candidate, was recently selected to join the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship program.
Reed received the award to recognize his academic excellence in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) achievements.
The program, developed in 1989 at Congress’s direction and sponsored by the Army, Navy, and Air Force, encourages citizen baccalaureate recipients to pursue graduate degrees aligned with the Department of Defense research and development initiatives.
Reed, who grew up in Los Lunas, New Mexico and received his BS in Electrical Engineering from New Mexico Tech, applied for the program with the encouragement of his mentor Assistant Professor Suren Jayasuriya.
Reed was initially shocked, when the DOD announced the award on April 17, 2020.
“After realizing that NDSEG had not made a mistake in sending me the appointment letter, I was ecstatic,” Reed said. “This gives me the freedom to pursue my research interests without worrying about funding.”
The NDSEG covers up to 36 months of tuition and fees and includes a monthly stipend, health insurance and a travel budget.
The DOD received more than 4100 applications this year and Reed was one of only 162 students selected in the nation.
With a focus on computer vision and machine learning, Reed will continue his research on synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) imaging and its applications. In particular, he is interested in fusing physics-based knowledge with modern artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques for enhanced imaging.
Reed is very thankful for the award and for the support he has received from his family, the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering and from Assistant Professor Jayasuriya.
The NSDEG award is not only an outstanding achievement for Reed but is also a boon for ASU. With Reed’s selection and having a previous NSDEG 2019 awardee from ASU, the Graduate College advisors have taken notice of this program.
Graduate Fellowship Program Manager at the Graduate College, Joshua Brooks, is excited to pursue this opportunity for the ASU community.
“We in the Graduate College are motivated by Albert’s recent success and have decided to pursue the NDSEG as an advising initiative for applicants,” Brooks said. “We will develop a multi-unit initiative composed of faculty, fellows, staff and students to increase both the breadth and quality of applications from ASU to NDSEG university-wide.”
Going forward, the Graduate College will seek both Reed’s and Jayasuriya’s counsel on how best to advise NDSEG applicants.
If you are interested in learning more about the NDSEG, contact your advisor or visit the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship program website.