CISTAR Graduate Fellows Overview

Graduate students engaged with CISTAR research across all sites are called CISTAR Graduate Fellows. Our Fellows have unique opportunities to not only engage in cutting edge research but also have access to professional development opportunities, mentoring and outreach experience, and industry connections through the Center. Fellows are mentored to develop an Individual Development Plan (IDP) to identify career interests, strengths, and areas of challenges to meet their goals and become future leaders in the hydrocarbon economy.

Join CISTAR as a Graduate Fellow CISTAR Undergraduate Fellows

CISTAR Fellow presenting poster to Industry

CISTAR Fellows working together at Fellows Institute event

Overview

Opportunities are available at Purdue University, University of New Mexico, Northwestern University, University of Notre Dame, and the University of Texas at Austin for graduate students studying chemical engineering, materials engineering, or chemistry. As a CISTAR Fellow, students are enrolled in a specialized CISTAR course that focuses on hydrocarbon-derived energy. Students also participate in the annual CISTAR Fellows Institute for specialized training to become excellent communicators and ethical leaders as well as interact with members from industry and CISTAR colleagues.

CISTAR Fellow benefits:

Participating in relevant research projects in catalysis, separations, and process design.
Collaborating with a wide network of world-class researchers, advisors, and peers across five partner universities.
Networking with CISTAR industrial partners from across the oil and gas value chain.

Opportunities to explore international research opportunities with optional global exchanges, research experiences, and industrial internships.

Student Leadership Council

CISTAR’s Student Leadership Council (SLC) consists of graduate student representatives from each partner appointed by the faculty to represent the student body of the center. They work collaboratively with the Engineering Workforce Development team to plan professional development opportunities such as the Brown Bag Luncheons, activities during the annual Fellows Institute, and provide their input to the National Science Foundation during site visits.

Apply To CISTAR Partner Universities Graduate Programs

• CISTAR at Purdue University Application Process

• CISTAR at University of New Mexico Application Process

• CISTAR at Northwestern University Application Process

• CISTAR at University of Notre Dame Application Process

• CISTAR at The University of Texas at Austin Application Process

Onboarding Process for New Fellows

Coming soon!

CISTAR Fellows News

CISTAR Congratulates Ricem Diaz Arroyo and Sopuru A. Ezenwa on CISTAR Fellowships

Congratulations to our 2021-2022 CISTAR Fellowship Winners, Ricem Diaz Arroyo and Sopuruchukwu (Sopuru) A. Ezenwa. CISTAR awards two fellowships annually – both of which are funded by Purdue Chemical Engineering alumni: Dick Reitz and Bill Murray.

2022 CISTAR Poster Pitch Winners

Congratulations to our 2024 CISTAR Biannual Meeting Poster and Poster Pitch Winners!

At each biannual meeting, CISTAR Fellows take part in the Poster Pitch competition, where they have 90 seconds to present their research to industry professionals and faculty members, inviting them to explore their work further during the subsequent poster session. The winner of the competition will represent CISTAR at the next NSF ERC Biennial meeting, competing against other ERC students for a $5,000 grand prize.

Announcing CISTAR's 2021 Biannual Meeting Perfect Pitch Winners

CISTAR's 2021 Biannual Meeting took place virtually October 13-15, 2021

CISTAR's Featured Fellow: Ricem Diaz Arroyo, Student Leadership Council 2023 Chair

CISTAR Fellow Luke Denoyer Wins UNM Pitch Deck Competition

Congratulations to our 2023 Poster Pitch and Poster Winners!

CISTAR Congratulates the following students for their outstanding poster pitch and posters at the 2023 CISTAR Biannual Meeting.

CISTAR PhD Student Luke Pretzie Awarded Prestigious DOE SCGSR Fellowship to Conduct Research at Argonne National Laboratory

Luke Pretzie, a fourth-year PhD student in Professor Jeffrey Greeley’s research group at Purdue University, has been accepted into the highly competitive U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Program. Pretzie will conduct research at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) under the mentorship of Dr. Cong Liu from June 9, 2025, to June 8, 2026.

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Student Leadership Council Members

Matt Davenport
SLC Chair
matt.davenport@utexas.edu

Ricem Diaz Arroyo
SLC Co-chair
Purdue University
rdiazarr@purdue.edu

Ryan Alcala
SLC - Education & Outreach
University of New Mexico
ralcala@unm.edu

Bo Wei Cynthia Chen
SLC - Mentoring & Professional Development
University of Notre Dame
bchen8@nd.edu

Xinrui Zhang
SLC - Industry Liaison
Northwestern University