texas a&m university department of mechanical engineering graduate student cole fincher has been selected for the prestigious national science foundation (nsf) graduate research fellowship program an honor bestowed upon only the most outstanding graduate students pursuing research-based masters and doctoral degrees fincher said he will remain at texas a&m as he pursues his graduate education in mechanical engineering he plans to continue researching small-scale mechanics and nanoindentation which he described as poking small objects with a small stick to investigate how materials behave at the nano and micro scale its nice to be able to have some certainty of whats going to happen over the next few years fincher said every day is exciting here we have many interesting projects in the lab that im working on its fun its like a little puzzle you have to figure out each day he said the news of his selection brought with it a mixture of excitement and relief for the possibilities the programs funding would provide him over the next few years fincher and his peers will receive a three-year annual stipend and a cost of education allowance to help cover tuition and fees fellows also have additional opportunities for professional development and international research through the program fincher who graduated with an bachelors degree in december is co-advised by dr matt pharr assistant professor in the mechanical engineering department and dr george m pharr iv texas a&m engineering experiment station (tees) distinguished research professor and professor in the department of materials science and engineeringmatt pharr said fincher is a great student who has made positive contributions not only in the lab but through entrepreneurial and outreach activities such as demonstrations for elementary school students as well he said finchers research interests have the potential for broad impacts in several areas including sustainable energy storage electric vehicles and more through the aid of the fellowship program matt pharr said fincher will be able to have the flexibility to pursue the research that most interests him rather than being tied only to the projects for which he can gain funding hes going to get to explore on his own matt pharr said hes enthusiastic and energetic and he loves doing academic and scientific work cole deserves this award and it is a great opportunity for him fincher said he believes his selection for the fellowship program is also a reflection of matt pharrs mentorship which he said has played an integral role in his development as a researcher and as a student established in 1952 the fellowship program was designed to recognize and provide support to students in nsf-supported engineering technology science and mathematics disciplines with the goal of helping to produce subject matter experts who can make significant contributions to teaching research and innovations it has funded more than 50 000 fellowships since its inception more than 450 of the programs fellows are members of the national academy of sciences and 42 have become nobel laureates previous fellows of the program include google founder sergey brin freakonomics co-author steven levitt and former us secretary of energy steven chu who is a distinguished lecturer with the hagler institute for advanced study at texas a&m as he moves forward as a fellow in the program pursuing his graduate education fincher said he hopes to publish as much as he can and take advantage of having the extra time to spend on research i think thats why the fellowship is so impactful -- it frees up a lot of time that you otherwise would have to spend acting as a teaching assistant or fulfilling other duties to fill that funding gap fincher said so now im freed up to focus more time on my research which i enjoy a lot