"Lihan has grown steadily into an independent and thoughtful researcher. He started with strong technical skills in GPU programming and has developed a solid understanding of compiler and system design. The fellowship will give him time to focus on extending his compiler framework and exploring new applications in graph learning. It will help him build a stronger research profile and prepare for the next stage of his academic career."

- Prof. Peng Jiang 

PhD Advisor; Assistant Professor, Emeriti-Faculty Scholar

About the Spring 2026 Graduate College Fellows

PhD students Sarmad Chandio (Computer Science - 4th year) and Lihan Hu (Computer Science - 3rd year) was awarded a Graduate College Post-Comprehensive Research Fellowship for Spring 2025.

"I feel deeply moved to be selected for this fellowship, as I realize how competitive and talented the application pool is. It also serves as a reminder that the academic community cares for its members and the work we are doing. This recognition serves as a strong motivation to dedicate more time and energy to my thesis, which explores different ways of investigating recommendation systems...This fellowship provides a way to ensure that I can devote focused, dedicated time toward advancing my thesis."

- Sarmad Chandio
Advisor: Rishab Nithyanand

"I feel truly honored to have received it, and I have many people to thank. First, I am very grateful to the CS Department for providing me with so much support throughout my journey. In particular, I would like to thank Ali, Matthieu, Sheryl, and Tina for helping me with administrative matters, and Director Prof. Goddard for encouraging me to apply and sharing information about the fellowship.

I am also thankful to my research group colleagues Yihua and Shihui, who offered tremendous support when I first started my PhD studies. Most importantly, I want to thank my PhD advisor, Prof. Peng Jiang. He has been deeply dedicated to every project I’ve worked on, teaching me technical skills in high-performance computing as well as how to begin doing meaningful research. Prof. Jiang often reminds me that the PhD journey is about learning things most people do not know—what many call finding one’s competitive edge. His guidance has been invaluable, and I am truly grateful to have had the opportunity to work with him during my years at UIowa."

- Lihan Hu
Advisor: Peng Jiang

About the Fellowships

Graduate College Post-Comprehensive Research Fellowship

This fellowship program provides an opportunity for advanced PhD students to benefit from protected and supported time to pursue their scholarly research activities. The fellowship is intended to recognize students with distinguished academic achievement during their early graduate training. These achievements should be evident from a combination of outstanding academic performance in coursework, as well as early scholarly research activities. Students who have held teaching assistantships in the previous two semesters will have priority.