Dillon Vann, a first-year doctoral student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, was among 15 Gator engineers who won National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships this year.
The Graduate Research Fellowship Program, known as GRFP, provides three years of financial support over five years to graduate students who have demonstrated potential for significant research achievements. Since 1952, GRFP has supported over 70,000 graduate research fellows. More than 40 former fellows have received Nobel Prizes, according to NSF.
Vann works in the Photonics Lab run by Volker Sorger, the Walden and Paula Rhines Endowed Professor in Semiconductor Photonics. The lab is affiliated with the Florida Semiconductor Institute, where Vann’s research focuses on silicon photonics, Fourier optics and solid-state physics applications.
Vann earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 2025 and is on track to complete his doctorate in 2029.
“I am grateful for the National Science Foundation’s support as I pursue cutting-edge research at the intersection of photonics and semiconductor science,” he said.