Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Computer Engineering Student Awarded NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

 

Contact: Dana Schmidt, communications specialist, (515) 294-3071, schmidtdiastate.edu

Ames, Iowa -- An Iowa State University computer engineering student is among this year’s National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship winners. Cory Kleinheksel, a senior in computer engineering, was one of three students with Iowa State ties to win the fellowship, which funds three years of study—up to $121,500—in master’s or doctoral degrees focusing on research in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. This year, 950 students nationwide received fellowship awards.

After he graduates with his bachelor’s degree this spring, Kleinheksel will continue his education at Iowa State and begin pursing his PhD in embedded and sensor systems.

“My proposed research is for a middleware system that emphasizes modular concepts for improved integration of sensor node data and high-level applications that would use the data,” he said.

Specifically, Kleinheksel will develop a system to improve precision farming by increasing information available to farmers so they can make informed decisions to reduce costs, increase production, and reduce the environmental impacts of farming. After graduate school, he plans to pursue a career as a professor.

Joseph Miller, a PhD student in mechanical engineering, and Raathai Molian, a 2008 mechanical engineering graduate, also received a fellowship this year. For more information on their research, visit the College of Engineering’s Web site.

Kleinheksel joins two other electrical and computer engineering NSF fellows enrolled at Iowa State: Sasha Kemmet, electrical engineering, and Mike Steffen, computer engineering.

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