Thomas “Teddy” Adams has been awarded the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) fellowship sponsored by the Office of Naval Research.
The three-year fellowship covers tuition and university fees and provides a monthly stipend of $3,600, along with access to additional funding for research and travel expenses.
A doctoral student in the Physics Graduate Program, Adams began research in experimental condensed matter physics in UC Merced Professor Sayantani Ghosh’s lab in August 2023. He uses the optoelectronic properties of advanced materials with respect to photocatalysis aimed at degradation of organic contaminants in water.
“Receiving the NDSEG fellowship means quite a lot in terms of support to pursue the research I do toward my passion for physics and the passion for supporting the most crucial needs of others,” he said. “Additionally, it’s a form of showing gratitude to the many who have made it possible for me to be here today.”
This isn’t the first award he has received during his time at UC Merced.
In May 2024, Adams was presented the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award. He also received a Labor and Automation in California Agriculture graduate research summer fellowship.
Adams was born in San Jose and raised in Northern California. His family is from Egypt.
His career goals are to continue research toward advanced materials, using their unique properties to address major concerns in environmental and humanitarian efforts.
“For those that helped me during tribulations in my youth, and those that helped me advance my career, this is a form of showing my infinite gratitude and I will take the opportunities afforded to me and certify they will not be taken for granted,” Adams said. “I will take every opportunity they afforded me to pursue higher goals and pay it forward by supporting others and their own goals.”
