Physics majors Hong Joo Ryoo and Ryan Liu.
Two recent Berkeley Physics grads, Hong Joo Ryoo and Ryan Liu, have received prestigious 2025 Graduate Research Fellowships from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
First awarded in 1952, the five-year NSF fellowship recognizes and supports outstanding students who have demonstrated their potential for significant research achievements in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) or STEM education. Each recipient receives three years of financial support, including an annual stipend of $37,000, as well as access to professional development opportunities.
Hong Joo Ryoo is pursuing a PhD in Physics and a concurrent MA in Philosophy at Johns Hopkins University. He was awarded the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship in theoretical particle and nuclear physics. His research in this field currently focuses on quantum chromodynamics in low-energy regimes, using new approaches such as quantum computing and new renormalization schemes. As an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, Ryoo conducted research at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and the Network for Neutrinos, Nuclear Astrophysics, and Symmetries (N3AS), and was supported by several UC Berkeley research fellowships while pursuing an interdisciplinary course of study.
Read more about the broader interdisciplinary aspects of Hong Joo's work in this feature from UC Berkeley’s Division of Arts & Humanities.
Ryan Liu recently earned his B.A. in Physics and Computer Science from Berkeley and will begin his Ph.D. studies at Caltech this fall. His research focuses on accelerating scientific discovery with artificial intelligence. At Berkeley, Ryan developed machine learning techniques for a broad spectrum of physical science domains, including collider physics and quantum chemistry. As an NSF GRFP Fellow, Ryan is set to further explore and harness the potential of machine learning to drive advancements in the physical sciences.
The program, which normally receives more than 13,000 applications from students across the United States, awarded 1,000 Fellowships in 2025, less than half as many as last year. More than 3,000 applicants received honorable mentions.