NASA Space Grant Alumna Jaya Sicard Awarded NSF GRFP

The National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program awards graduate students three years of support over five years to pursue a doctoral degree in STEM. This year, due to uncertainty about funding, the NSF upgraded 500 awards that were originally named honorable mentions, bringing the total number of awards to 1,500 (down from the usual 2,500).

Jaya Sicard’s award was one of those upgraded.

“I thought the email was a glitch,” Sicard said.

Sicard graduated in December with her bachelor’s in physics and minors in astronomy and mathematics after starting in 2017. She studied part time for five years and took some time off while working full time in the Nevada Air National Guard, where she worked for seven years.

“I spent most of that enlistment on active-duty orders while coming to school,” Sicard said.

Read the full article on unr.edu

Image Credit: Nevada Today

Author Credit: Michelle Werdann, ’21

Original Post Date: Aug. 8, 2025