The highly competitive awards support three years of advanced research in defense- relevant science and engineering fields
Three materials PhD students at UC Santa Barbara —Amir M’Saad, Erick Lawrence, and Akhila Mattapalli — have been awarded 2025 National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowships, one of the most competitive honors for graduate students in science and engineering. Funded by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), the NDSEG Fellowship provides three years of full tuition, a $44,400 annual stipend, health insurance, and travel funds. This year, 126 fellows were selected from nearly sixty universities nationwide, underscoring the competitiveness of the program.
“We are incredibly proud of Amir, Erick, and Akhila for earning this highly competitive and prestigious fellowship,” said Umesh Mishra, dean of The Robert Mehrabian College of Engineering. “Their achievements reflect the strength of our graduate programs and the exceptional caliber of students who choose UCSB to pursue impactful research. The NDSEG Fellowship not only recognizes their talent and dedication, but also reinforces our commitment to advancing science and engineering in service to society.”
“Receiving the NDSEG Fellowship is an incredible honor,” said Akhila Mattapalli, a second-year materials PhD student. “I am deeply grateful for the support my advisor and the materials community at UCSB have given me in the last year, and I plan to use this opportunity to the fullest as I work on projects at the forefront of the semiconductor research community.”
Advised by materials associate professor Sriram Krishnamoorthy, Mattapalli studies beta-gallium oxide (β-Ga₂O₃), an emerging wide bandgap semiconductor that enables operation at higher power levels and frequencies than existing materials allow. Her research focuses on designing and fabricating vertical transistors using β-Ga₂O₃ films grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD).
“Further understanding of β-Ga₂O₃ epitaxial growth and the electronic properties necessary for creating a high-performance transistor will improve our understanding of the entire developmental process,” Mattapalli explained.
She added that the technology has the potential to reduce the environmental impact of global power consumption.
“As data centers and electronic systems continue to demand great power-handling capability, my project aims to address that need by developing a device that combines high performance, efficiency, and reliability in extreme operating conditions,” she said.
Previously from the University of Utah, where he earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in materials science and engineering, third-year materials PhD student Erick Lawrence is advised at UCSB by materials associate professor Raphaële Clément. “At a time when funding insecurity is at an all-time high, having three years of guaranteed support to complete my PhD is a particularly powerful resource that I’m very grateful for,” said Lawrence. “This fellowship will allow me to pursue the research that I find most interesting and impactful.”
Lawrence’s research focuses on developing next-generation lithium-ion batteries that avoid the use of scarce and ethically problematic materials such as cobalt and nickel. Under Clément’s guidance, he is investigating manganese-based disordered rocksalt (DRX) cathodes, a promising class of materials that could deliver high energy density while relying on more abundant and sustainable elements.
His proposed work explores incorporating these DRX cathodes into all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries, which replace conventional flammable liquid electrolytes with solid- state lithium-ion conductors. “Currently, little research has been performed to understand how DRX materials can be integrated into all-solid-state batteries,” Lawrence explained. “Our goal is to test the chemical stability of DRX with different solid-state electrolytes, identify the optimal combinations, and evaluate battery lifespan and degradation mechanisms.”
Lawrence’s project could have far-reaching implications for both the Department of Defense and the general public. By advancing manganese-based cathode technologies, his work supports the development of domestic, cobalt- and nickel-free battery supply chains that reduce costs, enhance safety, and improve global resource sustainability.
“Reducing reliance on critical minerals from volatile regions strengthens American resilience to global instabilities,” Lawrence said, “and could help make electric vehicles more affordable and competitive with traditional combustion technologies.”
A second-year materials PhD student at UC Santa Barbara, Amir M’Saad is advised by materials professor James Speck. His research focuses on developing advanced processing techniques for gallium nitride (GaN) power electronic devices, materials that can operate under extreme electric fields and convert power with greater efficiency than conventional silicon-based technologies.
M’Saad’s proposed NDSEG project, “Gallium Nitride Vertical Superjunction Structure for Extreme Electric Field Electronics,” aims to address one of the key challenges in power electronics: the tradeoff between handling high voltages and minimizing resistance.
“The superjunction concept mitigates this tradeoff to achieve both high voltage capability and low loss,” he explained. “While this has already been demonstrated in silicon, realizing it in GaN requires entirely new growth and processing approaches to achieve the same level of performance.”
By optimizing the growth of GaN crystals with low defect density and refining device fabrication techniques, M’Saad’s work could pave the way for more efficient and compact power converters. The implications of his research are broad, potentially resulting in lighter, cooler, and more reliable systems for aircraft, ships, directed-energy platforms, and satellites.
“For the general public, these same advances can improve the performance of electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, and data centers — reducing energy losses, cutting costs, and lowering carbon emissions,” said M’Saad, who completed a bachelor’s degree in nanoengineering at UC San Diego.
Reflecting on the fellowship, M’Saad expressed deep gratitude to his peers and research group for their mentorship and feedback during the application process.
“It’s quite an honor,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting to receive it, but the support of my peers and group members helped shape the technical direction and clarity of my proposal. This award is really a reflection of the collaborative environment at UCSB.”
Established in 1989, the NDSEG Fellow Program support the training of U.S. scientists and engineers in disciplines of strategic importance to the DoD. Since its inception, more than 4,700 fellowships have been awarded and more than 70,000 applications have been received, an acceptance rate of seven percent.
