Henry Price ’23 just graduated with degrees from the Rossin College and Lehigh’s College of Arts and Sciences—though not everything has gone as planned for the double major in materials science and engineering (MSE) and earth and environmental sciences (EES).
“My original idea had been to stay at Lehigh and get a master’s degree,” says Price. “I had always been interested in pursuing a PhD, but was concerned about funding. With the GRFP, I’m able to move right into a PhD instead of waiting a few years and working after getting my master’s.”
The award he mentions is a prestigious one: The National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) “recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who have demonstrated the potential to be high achieving scientists and engineers, early in their careers,” according to the program’s website.
The NSF GRFP is a five-year fellowship that provides three years of financial support for graduate study and is meant to “ensure the quality, vitality, and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States.” The award supports the recipient, rather than a specific research focus.
While Price says the fellowship was unexpected, he knows that the research foundation he built at Lehigh gave him a serious edge in the selection process.
He started during the pandemic the summer before his sophomore year doing remote simulations of a characterization technique for creating thin films—the work eventually landed him co-authorship on a paper, his first such experience. Wanting more hands-on lab work, he participated in an NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program the following summer examining the microstructure of ceramics used in optical applications, such as in military vehicles and spacecraft windows.
As a junior, he underwent training to use Lehigh’s scanning electron microscopes, and he examined the effects of corrosion on metal used in solar energy applications. His capstone project involved researching and designing a castable aluminum alloy for housing electronics like cell phones and laptops. And finally, wanting to stretch himself in an entirely new research setting, he applied for the NSF’s Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE) internship, and spent last summer working in the south of France at the European Institute for Membranes researching membranes for water filtration.
“You have to write a research proposal and a personal statement when you’re applying for the GRFP,” he says, “and the opportunities I’ve had at Lehigh have been essential to helping me build the skills and experience you need to be selected for an award like this.”
Price plans to do his master’s work with Nicholas Strandwitz, an associate professor of materials science and engineering, working on semiconductor fabrication. As for what he’ll pursue as a PhD student, that’s a bit more up in the air. He’s interested in a range of subjects—from semiconductors to sustainability.
What he does know for sure, is that in whatever field he chooses, he’ll lean on a skill he’s honed over a range of research experiences—the ability to communicate.
“Communication isn’t just about having the ability to explain something across five levels of complexity,” he says. “It’s also about how well you work in groups, and as a leader of a group to get things done more efficiently and effectively. The ability to communicate clearly is a skill I developed here at Lehigh that’s going to serve me well in the future.”
