Civil and Environmental Engineering Ph.D. Student Justin Drummond Receives National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
Howard University Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Ph.D. student Justin Drummond was recently selected as a recipient of the prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF). According to NSF, the NSF Graduate Research Fellowships Program (GRFP) is a highly competitive fellowship program that “recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported STEM disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited US institutions.”
“The NSF GRF is one of the most esteemed graduate fellowships and I am honored to have been selected into the program,” said Drummond. “Being part of this fellowship will open doors to advance my research career and fuel my aspiration to become a professor. Also, the funding will alleviate financial burdens, helping me to focus more on my academics and research. I would like to give special thanks to those who wrote strong letters of recommendation on my behalf, Md Sami Hasnine, Ph.D., Jeseth Delgado Ph.D., and Mr. Ron Smith,” said Drummond. “I also would like to thank CEE interim chair Stephen Arhin, Ph.D., and other CEE faculty members for supporting me in my academic endeavors during my undergraduate and graduate studies at Howard University.”
Drummond has been conducting research under the supervision of Md Sami Hasnine, Ph.D., civil engineering assistant professor. His research interest has been understanding the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on transportation demand and transportation mode choices. Drummond is looking to publish his first papers on online and offline shopping behaviors during the pandemic, travel decisions during the pandemic and the impact COVID-19 vaccination has had on travel. He plans to continue researching transportation demand and transportation mode choice as it relates to COVID-19 and sustainable travel. Drummond’s overarching goal is to become a professor and help encourage and mentor minority students in their pursuit of research careers in STEM.
Graduating summa cum laude from Howard University with a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering in Spring 2021 and continuing at Howard, Drummond is pursuing a Ph.D. In transportation engineering. During his undergraduate studies, he was a member of the inaugural cohort for the KARSH Stem Scholars Program at Howard University, a competitive scholarship that prepares students for research careers, and also served two terms as president of the Chosen Christian Mentorship Organization, a non-denominational religious student organization founded at Howard University.