Recent alumni, Amanda Hertel, selected as Phi Kappa Phi Fellow


The Chemical & Petroleum Engineering Department is delighted to share great news about one of our recent alumni, Amanda Hertel. She was selected by the National chapter of the Phi Kappa Phi to receive the 1857 Fellow. In addition to the financial award, being a Fellow in this program will put Amanda in an excellent position as she continues on her career path into a medical school program in the future. Last year’s awardee of the same award is currently at Harvard Medical School which goes to show the level of competition she faced at the national level for this fellowship.

At KU, Amanda won numerous awards including Outstanding Sophomore and Junior. She performed research in Dr. Prajna Dhar's lab throughout her 4 years in the program. She was also supported by the REU during her first summer (Department/Shiflett) and the Undergraduate Research fellowships in Candan Tamerler's group.

Established in 1932, the Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship Program annually provides funding to first-year graduate students who are pursuing post-baccalaureate degrees across all academic disciplines. Endorsed by their local chapter, Phi Kappa Phi Fellows go on to study at some of the nation’s top graduate schools. Learn more at https://www.phikappaphi.org/

Dr. Dhar specifically wants to thank everyone their support of Amanda. She is very proud of her many achievements. This is the first time in the recent history of the department when one of our students won this honor.

Congratulations, Amanda!