KU announces 2026-2030 Self Graduate Fellows

LAWRENCE — Seventeen doctoral students have been selected to receive the University of Kansas’ prestigious Madison and Lila Self Graduate Fellowship for the 2026-2027 academic year. In fall 2026, the fellowship reaches 67 total current fellows, making it the largest fellowship size ever in the program’s history.

The Self Graduate Fellowship’s mission is to identify and recruit exceptional doctoral students who demonstrate the promise to make significant contributions to their fields and society as a whole. The total value of the four-year doctoral fellowship exceeds $275,000.

The fellowship is a four-year package awarded to incoming and first-year doctoral students who demonstrate leadership, initiative and passion for achievement. The fellowship covers full tuition and fees, provides graduate research assistant support of $40,000 per year, a $15,000 professional development award, a $5,000 startup award, a $3,000 textbook and technology award, and a robust professional development program. 

The Fellow Development Program provides general education and training in communication, management, innovation, policy and leadership to assist Self Graduate Fellows in preparation for future leadership roles through a comprehensive four-year curriculum. The development program complements the specialized education and training provided in doctoral programs. 

The late Madison and Lila Self launched and permanently endowed the Self Graduate Fellowship in 1989, motivated by their strong belief in the vital importance of developing leadership for tomorrow. Madison Self was a 1943 KU graduate in chemical engineering. Lila Self attended KU with the Class of 1943.

The new Self Graduate Fellows for the 2026-2030 cohort: 

• Ashley Bland of Columbia, Missouri: bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering, minor in business administration from Wichita State University; master of science in bioengineering, concentration in biomedical product design and development from KU; incoming doctoral student in bioengineering.
• Christian Cox of Olathe: bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from KU; incoming doctoral student in mechanical engineering.
• Jonathan Guzman of Lawrence: bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from KU; master of science in aerospace engineering from KU; incoming doctoral student in aerospace engineering.
• Avery Hantla of Lenexa: bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from KU; first-year doctoral student in aerospace engineering.
• Alyson Honeyman of Lenexa: bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from KU; first-year doctoral student in the interdisciplinary graduate program in biomedical sciences, KU Medical Center.
• Jeffrey Horinek of Joplin, Missouri: bachelor’s degrees in polymer chemistry and plastics engineering technology from Pittsburg State University; first-year doctoral student in chemistry.
• Daniel Ibanez IV of El Paso, Texas: bachelor’s degree in biology from New Mexico State University; master of arts in ecology & evolutionary biology from KU; first-year doctoral student in ecology & evolutionary biology.
• Sophie Juliana of Kansas City, Missouri: bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Lindenwood University; first-year doctoral student in chemistry.
• Ananda Kalukin of Arlington, Virginia: bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Cornell University; incoming doctoral student in molecular biosciences.
• Molly Kennedy of Ashburn, Virginia: bachelor’s degree in marine biology from Florida Southern College; first-year doctoral student in ecology & evolutionary biology.
• Lakyn Leupold of Hiawatha: bachelor’s degree in atmospheric science, certificate in climate and climate change from KU; first-year doctoral student in geography & atmospheric science.
• Anthony Napolitano of Howard Beach, New York: bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art; first-year doctoral student in pharmaceutical chemistry.
• Ty Ojanovac of Joliet, Illinois: bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Western Illinois University; master of science in chemistry from Western Illinois University; first-year doctoral student in chemistry.
• Kaitlin Steinauer of Bellevue, Nebraska: bachelor’s degree in geology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha; master of science in earth and atmospheric sciences from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; first-year doctoral student in geology.
• Hillary Wallace of Millersburg, Ohio: bachelor’s degree in accounting from Ashland University; master of science in business analytics from Ashland University; first-year doctoral student in business.
• Lexe West of Junction City: bachelor’s degree in psychology from Kansas State University; first-year doctoral student in the interdisciplinary graduate program in biomedical sciences, KU Medical Center.
• Michelle Woolridge of Tulsa, Oklahoma: bachelor’s degrees in biological sciences and romance languages, emphasis in Spanish from the University of Missouri; incoming doctoral student in molecular biosciences.