Rekdal ’15 awarded research fellowships for work in science, nutrition
Funding allows his investigation on the biochemical and microbial basis of human nutrition to continue at Harvard.
Vayu Maini Rekdal ’15 (Stockholm, Sweden) is the recipient of a prestigious James Mill Peirce Fellowship from Harvard University, a scholarship the provides $18,000 to the top incoming students in natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering at the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Rekdal plans to join the Molecules, Cells and Organisms (MCO) PhD program at Harvard this fall, where he will continue his research on the biochemical and microbial basis of human nutrition.
Additionally, Rekdal was named one of only 2000 students across the U.S. to receive a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship. The selection, based on Rekdal’s demonstrated potential to contribute to strengthening the vitality of the United States’ science and engineering enterprise, provides a $34,000 stipend per year as well as a $12,000 Coast of Education Allowance for a total of three years.
A chemistry and biology double major, Rekdal co-founded Carleton’s culinary club, Firebellies, and also launched the innovative Young Chefs program, which works with at-risk youth in school districts throughout Minnesota and beyond to teach students science through cooking.