Suzette Presas, a first-year graduate student in the Department of Electrical Engineering, has been awarded a prestigious 2007 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. The National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics who are pursuing research-based graduate degrees. In addition to tuition support for up to three years, NSF fellowships provide an annual stipend of $30,000 per year.

Suzette is a member of the RF Microsystems Group with the Center for Wireless and Microwave Information Systems (WAMI) and is advised by Dr. Thomas Weller, Professor of Electrical Engineering. She is working on the development of novel microwave devices that combine barium strontium titanate (BST) with nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) to deliver robust, high performance frequency-agile RF front-ends.

As an undergraduate at USF, Suzette was a King/O’Neal Scholar Award which is an honor bestowed upon graduating seniors with the highest cumulative grade point average. Her other awards have included a NSF Graduate Research Supplement fellowship, Verizon’s Hispanic Scholarship, Honeywell’s Hispanic Scholarship, and service as the USF Chapter President of Eta Kappa Nu during the 2005-2006 academic year.