Being first is nothing new to Spiders, and we proudly celebrate their accomplishments both when they’re on campus and when they’ve moved on to their next career step. 

Chemistry alum Brian Doherty, ’14, knows the feeling because he has become the first doctoral student to earn a Dissertation Fellowship at the University of Miami’s graduate school. His current studies have built upon his experiences in Carol Parish’s lab during his UR days, and he was one of the first students at Miami to study machine learning for computational chemistry.

“It is no surprise to me that [Brian] has developed a reputation as a ground-breaking scientist,” Parish said. “In my lab, it was clear that he had a talent for both big picture scientific impact and the details necessary to achieve those goals.”

The fellowship awards $27,225 to one doctoral candidate in their final year of study so they can focus on writing and defending their dissertation without the obligation of a teaching, research, or graduate assignment.

Congratulations, Brian!