Ivan Moreno, who majored in chemistry and physics at UNL, has always wanted to be a scientist, and getting his undergraduate degree at UNL was an important step toward that goal. While at UNL he made the most of his time here taking advantage of every opportunity that was presented to him. Moreno was very active in the department serving as the Chemistry Club president and also as a UNL McNair Scholar conducting research in various labs.
While an undergraduate at UNL, Moreno completed a UCARE research project on cerium oxide nanorods with Barry Cheung, associate professor of chemistry, and produced research for the McNair program under Martin Centurion, assistant professor of physics and astronomy.
When deciding which direction to take his research in the future, Moreno wanted to combine his physics and chemistry knowledge into a field that could make an impact.
Thanks to his work at UNL and a prestigious National Science Foundation Fellowship for graduate study, Moreno gained acceptance to the CalTech graduate program, his first choice.
“I want to do something about global warming and solar energy fits with my expertise,” he said. “I think I can really make a difference there (CalTech).”
Moreno will begin working under Nathan Lewis, professor of chemistry at California Institute of Technology, thanks in part to the NSF Fellowship, which provides a stipend for three years and several unique opportunities.
More than 14,000 applications were received for the 2014 NSF competition, but only 2,000 fellowships were awarded.
Congratulations Ivan Moreno, we are excited for your next stage in life!