The Becker Friedman Institute for Economics (BFI) at the University of Chicago is pleased to announce pre-doctoral researchers John Bonney and Nagisa Tadjfar were selected from more than 12,000 applicants to receive the prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship. They are among only 44 awardees matriculating into Economics PhD programs to receive the fellowship this year.
The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based Master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited US institutions.
“It is a real honor to receive an NSF graduate research fellowship,” Bonney said. “I am grateful to all those friends and faculty members—from both my time as an undergraduate and my time at BFI—who have supported me and helped shape the way I view economic research.”
As the oldest graduate fellowship of its kind, GRFP has a long history of selecting recipients who achieve high levels of success in their future academic and professional careers. The reputation of the GRFP follows recipients and often helps them become life-long leaders that contribute significantly to both scientific innovation and teaching.
“I feel lucky to have had the BFI community, both my supervisors and fellow research assistants, help me develop research ideas while preparing my proposal,” Tadjfar said. “Receiving the NSF fellowship is a humbling honor and an important reminder of the broad societal impacts economics research can and should have.”
As fellows, Bonney and Tadjfar will benefit from a three-year annual stipend of $34,000 along with a $12,000 cost of education allowance for tuition and fees, opportunities for international research and professional development, and the freedom to conduct their own research at any accredited US institution of graduate education they choose.
The researchers are part of the BFI Predoctoral Research in Economics Program, which serves as a bridge between college and graduate school for students interested in empirical economics. The program offers unique research and professional training opportunities at the University of Chicago. In addition to working closely with faculty as research assistants, predoctoral research professionals typically attend classes and seminars at BFI and affiliate institutions. The program also supports researchers in their career development with individual mentorship.
“While here at BFI, I have received invaluable mentorship from Prof. Magne Mogstad,” Bonney said. “He has shown me how to conceptualize and tackle important economic questions—something I will carry with me throughout graduate school and beyond.”
For more information and current Predoctoral Research in Economics Program opportunities, click here.