submitted by stottrup@augsburg.edu
Senior chemistry and physics major Kei Heltemes was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF GRFP), which provides a $34,000 stipend per year for three years for graduate study. Kei was among 2,074 students named an NSF GRFP out of over 13,000 applicants. For the past two years Kei has worked with Dr. Jeff Walter, conducting research in materials science of magnetic materials, and prior to that worked with Dr. Amanda Case. While at Augsburg, Kei has been named a Rossing Scholar by the ELCA as well as an NSF S-STEM Scholar. In addition to public funding, Kei’s work has been funded by Terry Lindstrom as well as the M.A. Cargill Foundation. He is a co-author on a 2020 Science Advances paper entitled ” Voltage-induced ferromagnetism in a diamagnet.” This work drew national media attention from outlets such as Popular Mechanics. He has presented research findings at numerous regional and national conferences. Kei will be pursuing a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota starting in the fall.